A mother is suing the Sumter County School Board for negligence after her eighth grade son was allegedly assaulted in a Wildwood Middle High School bathroom by a high school student.
The lawsuit was filed earlier this spring by Orlando-based attorney Charles W. Smith on behalf of Phteca S. Davis, who is the mother of the student victim.
In the complaint, Davis alleges that the school board and administration were negligent in protecting her son from an attack that took place in May 2022, while the child was an eighth grade student at Wildwood Middle High School.
According to the complaint, on May 6, 2022, Davis’ son was attempting to use the restroom on the middle school side of the campus.
While the boy was in the bathroom, the complaint alleges that a student from the high school side of the campus entered the middle school restroom and “assaulted and battered” the child.
The attack resulted in “severe personal injuries” to the student, according to the complaint.
Before the alleged attack, Davis claims that “employees were aware of threats” made against her son, and that they “failed to adequately protect” him or “prevent his assailant from entering the middle school side of campus from the high school side of campus.”
The complaint accuses the school of failing to “separate older high school students from the middle school students at Wildwood Middle High School” in order to protect “younger students from assault and battery.”
Davis’ attorneys further accuse the school of failing to provide an educational setting that was “safe, secure, and free from harassment, intimidation, abuse, unwanted touching, battery, and bullying” from its students.
As a result of the alleged incident, the complaint claims the student victim was injured, incurred pain and suffering, and required medical attention for his injuries.
The complaint also alleges that Davis will continue to “suffer damages in the future for medical and nursing expenses” for the care and treatment of her son.
The lawsuit calls for damages in excess of $50,000 and a trial by jury.
According to court records, Davis and her son were originally scheduled to be deposed this week before those depositions were postponed until Dec. 6, 2023.
