WACO, Texas, June 17 (UPI) -- A group of three white students in Texas allegedly wrapped a rope around the neck of a 12-year-old black student and "violently jerked" her to the ground, in what the victim's lawyer said was racially motivated bullying.
The parents of the 12-year-old girl said their daughter had "severe and painful" rope cuts on her neck and are suing Live Oak Classical School, a largely white private school in Waco, for $ 3 million. The school has dealt with allegations of bullying in the past.
The lawsuit, filed Monday, accuses the school of being negligent in its failure to protect the girl and in its response to her injuries. The parents are suing for payment of medical bills, physical pain, disfigurement and suffering.
The school denies the allegations and is contending the incident was an accident.
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According to the lawsuit, the girl had been the target of bullying since she began at the school in 2014. When she and her classmates were on a field trip to Germer Ranch, at the Enchanted Rock in Fredericksburg, Texas, on April 28, students found a rope swing and started taking turns on it.
The girl was standing to one side as others used the swing, and during one swing, she felt the rope wrap around her neck, the lawsuit alleges, and she was "violently jerked to the ground with the pull-rope wrapped around her neck."
Levi McCathern, an attorney who also represents the Dallas Cowboys, accused the three white boys of acting in racially motivated manner, according to the Waco Tribune.
David Deaconson, the school's attorney, denied any racially motivated actions.
"It was an unfortunate accident," he said, noting the girl went on to enjoy the rest of the trip with her classmates.
