Mother Sues New York City After 12 Year Old Son Commits Suicide Following Years Of Bullying Because Classmates Perceived Him To Be Gay

A grieving mom says her 12 year old son killed himself after being harassed by schoolmates who thought he was gay, and she is suing New York City for not taking sufficient action to stop the abuse, The Daily News reporting that 36 year old Bergouhi Elissa, of Astoria, Queens, said she repeatedly complained to staff at Public School 84 that son Elijah Mendez was being bullied. The situation got so bad that the seventh-grader hanged himself in his family's home on March 25, 2010, her attorney said. "No child should be afraid to go to school," Elissa said in a statement. "I believe that the school's inaction brought about the death of my son." The suit contends that Elijah was subjected to "repeated and frequent taunting, ridicule, menacing, threatening abuse and bullying," and also claims he was harassed due to his "perceived sexual orientation." Elissa says she complained to the school more than 10 times about the taunting, which began when her son was in the fifth grade. The boy suffered "physical and psychological injuries, distress, pain, suffering, anguish, grief [and] mental and emotional suffering," the lawsuit states. Elissa is seeking funeral expenses and damages from the city Department of Education. The city had no comment on the specifics of the suit."The situation involves a very tragic matter," said Kate O'Brien Ahlers, a spokeswoman for the Law Department, which is handling the case, adding "We will certainly review the case thoroughly." The problem of gay students being bullied by their peers made headlines last fall following a series of suicides. In one case, 18 year old Rutgers University student Tyler Clementi killed himself by jumping off the George Washington Bridge after his roommate broadcast over the Internet a gay sexual encounter involving Clementi. Eliza Byard, executive director of the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network, said nine out of 10 lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender students have suffered harassment at school. "Schools have to deal with anti-gay bullying and violence," said Byard. "No student deserves to suffer this way." She pointed out that in a similar case in California, where a 13-year-old committed suicide after being taunted, the Tehachapi Unified School District was required to revise its policies on bullying and provide mandatory training on harassment. Elissa said she hopes some good can arise from her loss. "Nothing can lessen the pain of a mother who has lost a child," she said in the statement."We hope that ultimately, this tragedy will increase people's awareness and thereby bring about change that will help protect other children."