(NewsNation) — A Louisiana family is moving to sue their daughter’s former school district after she was expelled for hitting a boy accused of sharing explicit, AI-generated images of her.
In a video circulated on social media, the 13-year-old girl is seen hitting her classmate while on the bus in August. Family attorney Greg Miller told NewsNation the violence came after the boy created a nude “deepfake.”
Miller said his clients plan to file a federal lawsuit against the Lafourche Parish School District over their handling of the situation.
The district, Miller said, not only failed to take action against the classmate when it was brought to their attention, but also allowed her to ride the same bus as the alleged perpetrator.
“They’re totally ignoring their own gross mishandling of the situation, and that’s just totally unacceptable,” Miller told NewsNation. “The school board’s actions in this matter are reprehensible.”
The district said Sixth Ward Middle School administrators and a school resource officer immediately began investigating the incident after it was reported.
They determined there was no potential for physical violence and found no reason to delay normal dismissal that day, according to a joint statement from the Lafourche Parish sheriff and superintendent.
Miller said the school district is “hiding behind their zero-tolerance policy” for violence as a reason for expelling his client.
“The school board so far hasn’t expressed any sentiments or taken any action that we’re aware of to prevent this in the future. And you know, it’s obvious that what they need to do,” Miller said. “They need to raise awareness to the students, the faculty, that this is going on, and be alert for it. They should have done it already.”
The sheriff’s office confirmed one juvenile boy has been criminally charged in an investigation into “the creation and dissemination of the pornographic images.”
“The investigation is continuing, and additional charges against a second individual are possible,” the statement said.
The 13-year-old girl has since transferred to another school, and Miller said she is “holding up pretty well, all things considered.”