SPENCERPORT, N.Y. — The Spencerport Central School District and local law enforcement are investigating a series of targeted harassment and bullying incidents at a middle school.
Lia Sick, an eighth grader at Cosgrove Middle School, says a group of boys has been bullying her since the sixth grade, Rochester First reports. Most recently, on Nov. 22, the group of boys surrounded her and slammed her against her locker. The incident was caught on video surveillance.
“They shoved me full speed right into my locker,” Lia said. “I think three or four put their hands on me but still those are boys against me and after that I just started hitting them and telling them to go away. Just leave me alone.”
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Her parents, Kim and Shaun Sick, say their daughter is being punished because she now has to be escorted when she’s walking in the hallways and has to eat lunch in a classroom. They also said the district isn’t doing enough to punish the students. The students received a three-day suspension over Thanksgiving break but then allegedly harassed the family over the phone.
“It was basically an eight-day vacation for them, which then they decided to call us nonstop throughout all hours of the night. Every minute to five minutes, we were getting a phone call or a video call,” Shaun said. “No parent wants to hear that their 13-year-old daughter is being assaulted by six boys.”
The family says they’ve received threatening and hateful messages from students but that a lot of parents have also reached out expressing concerns about their children being bullied.
“Lots – at least 20 people have reached out — and said, ‘My child is getting this, why is this happening?'” Kim said. “It’s just this one group in school.”
Multiple Police Departments Investigating Spencerport Bullying
Superintendent Ty Zinkiewich sent a message to the district community on Nov. 29 acknowledging the “verbal and physical harassment on school property along with ongoing events over this holiday weekend.”
“The individuals involved have been relentless in their harassing behavior and I’m turning to our community for your support and assistance,” he wrote. “Over the last few days, we have been made aware of further inappropriate and threatening behavior directed toward a member of our learning community and their family, through FaceTime.”
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Zinkiewich said the district subsequently contacted the Ogden and Greece Police Departments “to pursue any and all options as it relates to the initial incident, as well as the subsequent threatening communication and conduct that has followed.”
In addition to the Ogden and Greece Police, the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office are also involved in the investigation. Greece Police announced Tuesday that it is “nearing the end of the investigation and expect an arrest.” Officers said they could not elaborate further due to the ages of those involved.
Anyone with additional information related to the case is asked to contact the Safe School Helpline online by calling 1-800-4-1-VOICE (1-800-418-6423) ext. 359 or by texting “TIPS” to (614) 426-0240.
