'I fully intend to seek an attorney,' mother of alleged Newburgh bully victim

Segann March
Evansville
Castle High School
Warrick County School officials are investigating reports that a special needs student at Castle High was a target of online bullying.

An online petition claiming the student was bullied by more than 10 classmates surfaced on Facebook this week.

NEWBURGH, Ind. — Warrick County School officials are investigating reports that a special needs student at Castle High was a target of online bullying.

An online petition claiming the student was bullied by more than 10 classmates surfaced on Facebook this week. 

To date, the petition — created by Megan Robak, a former Castle High School student and peer mentor to the student reportedly being bullied — has been signed by 700 people. The petition asks that Warrick County school board members put in a stricter bullying policy and address issues like these.

The petition stated, "11 Castle High School students made a group chat on Instagram making fun of a special needs kids. They called this student names including sped, retard, tard, weirdo, etc. They tried to get this student to send nudes and inappropriate pictures so they could make fun of him. They also told him they would 'slap the sh*t out of him on Monday' if he did not send nudes."

The student's mother, who the Courier & Press is not identifying, said a group chat on social media was created and the students added her son to the message thread. She said her son is a senior at Castle High School and is developmentally delayed, but is a social person. 

"Not all the names in the chat commented, but there were plenty that had access to the chat to read it whether they spoke or not," she said. "I have over 400 pictures of the group's chat. My son's civil rights have been violated by these kids, and I fully intend to seek an attorney."

More:'I fully intend to seek an attorney,' mother of alleged Newburgh bully victim

Many in the community say bullying at schools is frequently swept under the rug in Warrick County Schools. The petition states these same students may have bullied other special needs students in-person and online. 

The Courier & Press reached out to Castle High Principal Doug Gresham and Warrick County School Corp. seeking comment on the reported bullying and their actions to address the situation. Gresham gave the C&P the same letter he sent to parents in the school Tuesday about the incident and declined to comment further. 

"Over the weekend, Castle High School administration was made aware of a social media incident involving some of our students," the letter to parents read. "The incident is being investigated using the Indiana Department of Education Guidelines and Warrick County School Corporation Policies. Appropriate discipline has been issued to some students. As the investigation continues, other discipline could be necessary. Castle High School is committed to providing a bully-free, safe environment for all of our students."

Brad Schneider, superintendent of Warrick County Schools, said the incident is under investigation and the majority of students involved in the incident have received disciplinary action. 

"Warrick County is not going to tolerate bullying," Schneider said. 

Warrick County School officials are investigating reports that a special needs student at Castle High was a target of online bullying.

An online petition claiming the student was bullied by more than 10 classmates surfaced on Facebook this week.

The student's mom said the school district's statement didn't mention an incident in May where she said students poured milk on another special education student.

"They're conveniently leaving that part out and downplaying issues like this continuously," the woman said. "This is the same group of students." 

Schneider said the bullying incident reported in May was retracted by the student and has nothing to do with the recent case. 

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Warrick County School officials are investigating reports that a special needs student at Castle High was a target of online bullying.

An online petition claiming the student was bullied by more than 10 classmates surfaced on Facebook this week.