Civil Lawsuit Filed Against Berryhill School District, Staff After Bullying Incidents

A civil lawsuit accuses the Berryhill School District of doing nothing when a special needs boy was bullied and assaulted. A teacher, two principals and an assistant principal are among the people being sued by the victim's mother.

Wednesday, January 15th 2020, 7:46 pm

By: Amy Slanchik

Civil Lawsuit Filed Against Berryhill School District, Staff After Bullying Incidents

A civil lawsuit accuses the Berryhill School District of doing nothing when a special needs boy was bullied and assaulted.

A teacher, two principals and an assistant principal are among the people being sued by the victim's mother.

The lawsuit says the bullying started in 2016 and continued into the spring of 2019.

Court documents say in one instance, fellow student, 18-year-old Zach Arterberry, unzipped his pants and "shoved" his crotch in the boy's face.

It says the teacher, Megan Ennis, took a picture of the assault and laughed.

The lawsuit says another student took video of the "attack" and posted it to social media.

The lawsuit also says the victim was slapped multiple times, and Arterberry and another student taped the child's mouth shut with tape from the teacher's desk. It says they then taped the boy’s hands behind his back, tied his shoe laces together and pulled his pants down.

The teacher is accused of failing to report what happened in her classroom to the principal. The suit says, instead, the victim's parents reported it the next day.

Court documents say the victim's mother made several reports to Principal Ronna Taylor, but "the school did nothing to stop or curtail the bullying."

The lawsuit says despite the assaults that had been reported, the school "continued to place…" the student "…in classroom environments with his tormentors."

Oklahoma law requires anyone who suspects child abuse or neglect to report it.

The Tulsa County District Attorney’s Office approved a charge against Arterberry for misdemeanor assault and battery. No one else named in the lawsuit has been charged.

News On 6 reached out to Berryhill Public Schools, and the attorneys representing both the district and the people named in the lawsuit.

We did not heard back from the school district or the attorneys by the end of the day Wednesday.

Amy Slanchik

Amy Slanchik is passionate about storytelling. She joined the News On 6 team in May of 2016 after spending almost two years in Fort Smith, Ark. She is a proud University of Oklahoma graduate.

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