CHARLOTTE — The family of an Ardrey Kell student who was accused of attacking a girl during class in March has now filed a civil lawsuit against the girl and several public figures in Charlotte, accusing them of slander in the wake of the alleged fight.
Channel 9 obtained a copy of the lawsuit on Wednesday. It names the girl, her family, Jibril Hough, Annette Albright, Brian Kasher, and others as defendants.
It all stems from an incident that Channel 9 has reported extensively on in the past few months.
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Back in March, the family of a girl at Ardrey Kell filed a report with the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department and called for action after they alleged that she was left bloody and bruised by a boy.
The family had alleged that the boy used racial slurs against the girl, who is Muslim, and they wanted the boy charged with a hate crime. CMPD and the FBI investigated but said it wasn’t being considered a hate crime.
After the fight, several people spoke out in support of the girl’s family, including Jibril Hough, who was acting as a spokesperson for the family. The lawsuit points out that Hough contacted media outlets and claimed that the boy attacked the girl because of her religion and that he had harassed and stalked her in previous incidents.
Channel 9 spoke with the boy’s mother, who disputed those allegations and said that the girl had been “incessantly bullying” her son.
Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools suspended both students involved in the fight but declined to comment on specifics about the incident because of student privacy.
The new lawsuit is making claims against the girl for assault, and battery; other defendants are being accused of slander and libel.
The family claims the girl made false statements about the boy and the fight. They also claim that Annette Albright, a former candidate for the CMS board, shared a photo on social media claiming that the boy had been arrested. The family says Hough made false statements about the boy, saying that he told the girl to “go back to her country” and that he attacked the girl due to her race. Brian Kasher, a former Manager of Environmental Health and Safety for CMS, is also named in the lawsuit for statements he made insinuating that the boy attacked the girl because of steroids.
In the lawsuit, the boy’s family claims that they’ve been harassed and stalked in the wake of the incident. They also say that their home was vandalized, and they had to have an emergency evacuation plan due to death threats against them.
The lawsuit says a school resource officer was alerted to “credible threats” and requested that a CMPD security detail be placed outside of the boy’s home since March 11.
The family is suing for punitive damages of at least $25,000.
This is a developing story, check back for updates.
(VIDEO: Ardrey Kell High School principal suspended with pay)
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