Parents of California girl filmed urinating blast school’s response as inadequate
DANVILLE, Calif. — The parents of a 16-year-old girl who was filmed urinating in a bathroom stall say officials at a California high school aren’t doing enough to punish the perpetrator who received a three-day suspension after she admitted to posting the video on social media.
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The 17-year-old girl, a star athlete at San Ramon Valley High School in Danville, was arrested but allowed to return to school the next day, remain on her team and participate in a championship game, The East Bay Times reported.
The victim’s mom, Denise Lynch, accused school district officials of failing to properly respond to the incident by allowing the girl stay in the school. She said her daughter’s grades dropped and that she is suffering emotionally by having to face her tormentor at school.
“When it is reported to you, you do nothing, you minimize it, you sweep it under the rug,” Lynch told board members at a meeting Tuesday.
“Had my daughter not told us, or God forbid killed herself, everyone would be asking themselves: ‘What more could have been done?’ Now is the time to do something,” her husband Sean Lynch said.
The Lynches found out about the video when it was posted on Instagram in April, months after it was filmed in November by a cellphone from under a bathroom stall.
A San Ramon Valley Unified School District spokeswoman declined to discuss the district’s response to the incident, citing student privacy. She said police reported the incident to school officials, who investigated it and took disciplinary action.
In general, “the district uses progressive discipline, meaning that the type of discipline may in part depend on a student’s past behavioral history. We are also increasingly using restorative practices when possible,” Elizabeth Graswich said.
The girl was arrested and cited for invasion of privacy, which is a misdemeanor, Danville police spokesman Geoff Gillette said. Her case will be reviewed by the Contra Costa County Juvenile Probation Department, he said.
