VICTIM-BLAMING

Superintendent Tears Into Family of Bullied Student Who Took Her Own Life

Adriana Kuch died two days after a video appeared on social media showing a group of students striking her with a water bottle while shouting insults.

The superintendent of a New Jersey high school where a 14-year-old student was viciously bullied days before committing suicide has defended the school and instead blamed the 14-year-old’s family. In comments to The Daily Mail, Superintendent Triantafillos Parlapanides claimed Adriana Kuch took her own life due to her father’s extramarital affair, the suicide of her mother nearly a decade ago, and the teen’s own “poor choices” surrounding drugs in 7th and 8th grade, the New York Post reported. Kuch died Feb. 3, two days after a video appeared on social media showing a group of students striking her with a water bottle while shouting insults. Prosecutors announced on Friday that four students have been charged in connection with the attack. One is facing a charge of aggravated assault, another is facing a charge of harassment, and two others were charged with conspiracy to commit aggravated assault, Ocean County Prosecutor Bradley D. Billhimer said. The school did not call police after the attack—Parlapanides claimed such action would have violated school policy. Kuch’s father has criticized the school’s handling of the incident and told the Post that Parlapanides is victim-blaming his daughter. “My daughter was attacked in your school and you did nothing,” he said.