GoFundMe Mya Vizcarrondo-Rios
Mya Vizcarrondo-Rios suffered bullying for several months at her New York City school and the ongoing harassment prompted the teen to take her own life, her parents say. They have filed a lawsuit against the city of New York and the New York City Department of Education, alleging that school officials were aware of how their daughter was being treated but failed to intervene.
The lawsuit, filed in the Bronx Supreme Court on May 28, 2019, states that Vizcarrondo-Rios was forced to perform sex acts on two boys at school on February 28, 2018. That same afternoon, she stepped off the roof of her mother’s 34-story apartment building. She was later pronounced dead at the hospital. Mya was only 15, according to the obituary.
Department of Education spokesperson Doug Cohen said in a statement, published by the New York Post, “This was a tragic loss, and students deserve safe and supportive school environments. We recognize the deep impact bullying can have, and schools are required to immediately investigate and address any allegation.”
Here’s what you need to know.
1. Lawsuit: Mya Vizcarrondo-Rios Was Bullied ‘Openly’ For Several Months, Causing Her ‘Severe Emotional Distress’
Mya Vizcarrondo-Rios was a new student at Harry S. Truman High School in the Bronx in September of 2017. According to the lawsuit filed on behalf of her parents, Heriberto Rios and Nelly Vizcarrondo, Mya became the target of bullying soon after the school year began. She is referenced to as “plaintiff M.A.V-R” in the complaint, which is embedded above.
The family’s attorney, John Scola, wrote in the complaint that Vizcarrondo-Rios was targeted “openly” for about five months on school property and that the harassment caused her “severe emotional distress.” The family alleges that teachers and other school employees were aware that Vizcarrondo-Rios was being picked on but failed to intervene.
2. Mya Vizcarrondo-Rios Went to the Principal & to a Guidance Counselor About the Bullying But No Action Was Taken, According to the Lawsuit
GoFundMeMya Vizcarrondo-Rios
Mya Vizcarrondo-Rios was ridiculed verbally but the abuse did not stop there, according to the lawsuit. The family’s attorney, John Scola, states that the teen was body-shamed by another female student. This other student, identified only by her first name of Viviana, allegedly physically assaulted Vizcarrondo-Rios as well.
The lawsuit alleges that the bullying became sexual, but does not speculate as to when this type of abuse may have started. The complaint reads that the teen was “repeatedly forced to endure physical abuse, including but not limited to being forced to perform sex acts on other students while at school, from the students which occurred on the grounds of Harry S. Truman High School.”
Vizcarrondo-Rios’ family says that their daughter spoke up about the alleged abuse to school officials. She reportedly went to a guidance counselor and to the principal, Keri Alfano, but her claims were never investigated.
The lawsuit reiterates that school officials had “constructive notice” but did not intervene. It continues, “The employees of Harry S. Truman High School were aware of the potential risks of children being bullied and their potential consequences if they did not intervene to stop and/or prevent said bullying but failed to do so anyway.”
3. Mya Vizcarrondo-Rios’ Parents Met With School Officials After She Began Skipping School But Were Never Told About the Alleged Bullying
The parents of Mya Vizcarrondo-Rios claim Bronx high school officials ignored their daughter’s cries for help after bullies tormented her for months.
She killed herself, and now the parents are suing the city.
Mya Vizcarrondo-Rios’ parents, Heriberto Rios and Nelly Vizcarrondo, say their daughter was an honor student with perfect attendance. But in late 2017, the teen began skipping class in order to avoid the bullying, the lawsuit alleges.
On January 24, about 4 weeks before Vizcarrondo-Rios committed suicide, her parents met with the guidance counselor, principal Keri Alfano, and the dean to discuss her attendance. They said that Mya would have to sign in at each individual class going forward to ensure that she did not skip school in the middle of the day. But they did not inform Mya’s parents that she had come to them with complaints about being bullied.
Attorney John Scola wrote in the complaint that the guidance counselor “saw and willfully ignored the signs” that Vizcarrondo-Rios “was suffering severe emotional pain and depression as a result of the bullying she was receiving at school.” The complaint further accuses the school officials of failing “to notify plaintiff’s teachers that they should be on the lookout for signs of distress.”
4. Lawsuit: Mya Vizcarrondo-Rios Was Forced to Perform Sex Acts By Two Students on the Day She Died; She Left School Early But Officials Did Nothing to Find Her & Did Not Notify Her Parents That She Was Missing
Mya Vizcarrondo-Rios’ parents are suing the Department of Education for ignoring the teen’s repeated complaints about being bullied.
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The Vizcarrondo-Rios family claims in the lawsuit that school officials failed to take action that could have saved their daughter’s life. According to the complaint, a friend of Mya’s went to a guidance counselor and said that she “was having problems” on February 27, 2018, the day before the teen took her own life.
The counselor reportedly spoke with Vizcarrondo-Rios during her gym class. The counselor allegedly wrote in a guidance review card that Vizcarrondo-Rios’ parents needed to be informed of what was going on, but failed to do so.
The next day, Vizcarrondo-Rios participated in a school performance. After it was completed, according to the lawsuit, she was “taken into the back of the unsupervised auditorium by two boys and was forced to perform a sex act on the two students in the auditorium.” The complaint continues, “the students were able to gain access to the auditorium as it was not locked despite the foreseeable risk that having access to the unsupervised auditorium could pose to students, such as a place for sexual assault or violence.”
Vizcarrondo-Rios left school early without asking permission or telling anyone where she was going. Her family’s attorney, John Scola, alleges in the lawsuit that school officials missed a crucial step that could have been instrumental in saving the teen’s life: no one reportedly looked for the teen. It’s worth noting that Vizcarrondo-Rios had been required to sign in at each of her classes to ensure she did not skip; therefore, officials should have noticed that she was not there. The lawsuit claims that no one from the school called Vizcarrondo-Rios’ parents to inform them that their daughter was missing. The complaint reads, “if the representation that deceased plaintiff was required to sign in at each class were true, her absence would have triggered a notification of the parents or a search as to deceased plaintiff M.A.V-R. whereabouts and prevented her death.”
Vizcarrondo-Rios was still wearing her backpack when she jumped from the roof of her 34-story apartment building at approximately 2 p.m. on February 28, 2018. She was taken to Jacobi Medical Center where she was pronounced dead at 3:02 p.m.
5. Mya Vizcarrondo-Rios’ Parents Have Sued the City & the NYC Department of Education For Wrongful Death & Negligence; They Say School Officials Failed to Protect Their Daughter
► Padres toman drásticas medidas tras el suicidio de su hija Mya Vizcarrondo t.co/qevQ0ONDEC
The lawsuit filed in the Bronx Supreme Court against the city of New York and the New York City Department of Education alleges that actions taken after Mya Vizcarrondo-Rios took her own life indicate that officials had been aware of the alleged bullying. One of the students identified in the complaint as “Viviana” was transferred out of Harry S. Truman High School the very next day. The guidance counselor, whose name was withheld in the complaint, was fired by the Department of Education.
Heriberto Rios and Nelly Vizcarrondo are suing the city and the department of education on multiple counts including Wrongful Death and Negligent Supervision. Their attorney wrote in the complaint that the “employees of Harry S. Truman High School owed a duty to M.A.V-R. to exercise such care as an ordinary prudent parent would in comparable circumstances but failed to act in accordance with this standard in that they negligently supervised, failed to intervene and failed to notify HERIBERTO RIOS and NELLY VIZCARRONDO of the bullying of M.A.V-R. The bullying of M.A.V-R. was not an impulsive or unanticipated act by a student but rather occurred almost daily over a period of five (5) months in an open and pervasive manner. Despite having “loco parentis” over M.A.V-R. the employees of Harry S. Truman High School failed to protect the plaintiff and did not act with ordinary prudence.”
Mya Vizcarrondo-Rios’ parents are demanding damages from the city and the education department, but the lawsuit does not specify an amount. Attorney John Scola explained to Heavy via email that once the City of New York and the Department of Education had been served the complaint, the case would next go into a discovery phase.
Her family had a GoFundMe campaign to help pay for funeral costs after the teen died. They described Mya on the page: “Mya always very happy, loved to joke around, and enjoyed listening, and dancing to music! Mya was so full of life! She will always be remembered in our hearts and memory. Please speak to your children about bullying because at the end of the day no matter what age we all lose when it comes to bullying.”
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