The parents of a 10-year-old boy who hanged himself in May after “horrific bullying” are suing their son’s school, claiming staff covered up complaints and punished victims who spoke out about the issue.
The father and mother of Sammy Tuesch, who committed suicide at the family’s home in Greenfield, Indiana, filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the local school system last week for allegedly ignoring repeated complaints about their behavior. torment of son at the hands of the other students.
Sammy’s classmates called him “Dahmer” and said the fourth-grader looked like serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer, the complaint says.
“When Sammy complained to his teacher, her only response was that, in her opinion, Sammy looked somewhat like Jeffrey Dahmer,” the lawsuit reads.
The school even threatened to punish Sammy if he sought help, his father, Sam Tuesch, told The Post.
“Someone hit Sammy with an iPad, broke his glasses and cut his eye, but he got kicked off the bus,” the father said. “At that point he stopped talking to us about it. The main thing he was worried about was getting in trouble at school, so he didn’t fight back.
The lawsuit alleges that teachers and staff at Greenfield’s Weston Elementary turned a blind eye to months of verbal and physical abuse by the child, who was mocked for his glasses and teeth and even urged to hang himself.
“Sammy has told me this a million times: ‘Dad, they don’t listen to me at school. They don’t listen to me,” Teusch said.
Tuesch said Sammy lived in a stable home with his three sisters. The father said he and his wife Nicci had begged the school to protect their son, but despite staff assuring them they would ‘take care of it’, there is no official record of their complaints – nor of other parents who reported it. Couple said they also had complaints. to school about bullying.
“Other parents have messaged me saying their children were being bullied too, and they complained too, but in the two years Sammy was there there was never another report of bullying from anyone. It’s really crazy,” Teusch said.
Teusch said he believes Sammy’s death was the product of a massive culture of unchecked bullying, in which teachers and staff are too afraid to confront bullies and parents are left in the dark.
“We as parents have no transparency. We don’t know what’s going on with a lot of things in the schools right now. We have to change the way this is,” Teusch said.
Teusch believes woke toothless enforcement standards have left school staff terrified of punishing vicious students and enforcing so-called “zero tolerance” bullying policies.
Teusch has spent the months since his son’s death advocating against bullying and sharing his son’s story. He and his wife have founded the Sammy’s Tree foundation for victims of bullying and are discussing an upcoming film based on Sammy’s story.
But he said people are being punished for even talking about the violence and self-harm. According to the CDC, bullying is the second leading cause of death for children ages 10 to 14.
“TikTok banned me, Facebook banned me, for even saying the word ‘suicide’. We need to acknowledge the problem and not just brush it aside,” the father said.
The Teuschs filed their lawsuit against the Greenfield-Central Community School Corporation and the Greenfield-Central Community School Corporation Board of Trustees in Hancock County Circuit Court on Tuesday.
If you are struggling with thoughts of suicide or experiencing a mental health crisis and live in New York City, you can call 1-888-NYC-WELL for free and confidential crisis counseling. If you live outside the five boroughs, you can call the 24/7 National Suicide Prevention hotline on 988 or visit SuicidePreventionLifeline.org.
