This is major: The DeKalb County, Georgia District Attorney is considering filing criminal charges on behalf of Jaheem Herrera, the 11-year-old boy who committed suicide after months of relentless harassment and anti-gay bullying, reports WXIA-TV.
"We're trying to get an understanding on what the law is and what the facts are, and see how the two merge and how any kind of criminal activity can be put together from the two," DeKalb County DA Gwen Keyes Fleming said.
She said she will need the dates and times of bullying incidents at Jaheem's school—along with the names of anyone involved. Questions attorneys for the family may be able to answer.
"I know it's not a formal investigation yet, but we believe that once she looks into it, in Georgia there are certain laws that call someone to be a mandatory reporter in incidents of crime and we believe that there was at least one crime perpetrated in this bullying incident," said the family's attorney, Gerald Griggs.
While criminal liability may be a long shot, civil liability for the little boy's suicide may not be. Especially if the school failed to report any acts of violence against him or others.
The criminal investigation into the DeKalb County School District gains momentum as other parents say their sons were also bullied, harassed, "called gay" and beaten with belt buckles at the same school, reports the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. The mother of A.J. Brown—Jaheem's best friend who defended him from bullies—was forced to pull her son from classes after Jaheem's suicide.
"Basically he [A.J.] was called names because he was defending Jaheem," Alice Brown says. "I think people need to take this issue seriously."
Jaheem's mother, Masika Bermudez, appeared on CNN's AC360 to speak out against homophobia and the bullying that drove her 11-year-old boy to suicide.
Watch AC360's report AFTER THE JUMP.
Masika Bermudez says: "Mom, they keep calling me gay. What is this gay word? Why is it so bad?" The grieving murder says she has removed her other children from the school system and is returning to St. Croix, Virgin Islands where her children were "safe".
Indeed. Why is "gay" so bad? Where are the children in middle-class DeKalb County learning such hate?
Jaheem Herrera's suicide comes two weeks after the suicide of Carl Joseph Walker-Hoover, an 11-year-old Massachusetts boy who also suffered taunts that he was gay, feminine and "talked funny."
You May Have Missed ...
Boston Globe: Carl "Bullied to Death" [R20]
Jaheem Called "Gay" Hours Before Dying [R20]
Carl Joseph Walker-Hoover's Mother on "Ellen" [R20]
Anti-Gay Bullying Drives Georgia Boy to Suicide [R20]
ABC News on Carl Joseph Walker-Hoover [R20]
CNN on Carl Joseph Walker-Hoover and Bullying [R20]
Carl Joseph Walker-Hoover's Mother Speaks Out [R20]
Anti-Gay Bullying Drives Mass. Student to Suicide [R20]
Mother Calls for State Investigation [R20]
Funeral for Carl Joseph Walker-Hoover [R20]
GOOD! Sue them all, even the school security guards and all the parents of all those unruly children.
AND start criminal investigation and investigate teachers, administrators, principals ...
That doesnt make any sense if the kids bullied the best friend AFTER Jaheem's suicide. Obviously the incident taught them ... and the school and parents ..,NOTHING!
Posted by: Dalton | 25 April 2009 at 13:55
i wish the district atty the best of luck
Posted by: Antwan | 25 April 2009 at 14:09
Rod, I think you meant "beat with belt buckles" in the story.
And you mean to tell me that these are really Bebe's kids? They started bullying his friend after Jaheem committed suicide? That is so beyond the pale, and it indicates...excuse me for this...the true ghetto mentality of these children and their parents. They need to be ashamed of themselves.
Thanks for catching that, Kev. And, yes, there is a very ghetto mentality with these children, I've been saying it all along. -RM
Posted by: Chitown Kev | 25 April 2009 at 14:50
>>>The mother of A.J. Brown—Jaheem's best friend who defended him from bullies—was forced to pull her son from classes after Jaheem's suicide.
This is horrendous. These kids are despicable and their parents are probably even worst...
Posted by: Torrance | 25 April 2009 at 14:56
the best friend is getting bullied too? tHis is a joke right? right?
Posted by: Dante | 25 April 2009 at 14:59
good! let some of those little monsters spend a few months in juvie and see how they like the consequences of their actions.
Posted by: FREELEO | 25 April 2009 at 15:18
these children are being taught to be schoolyard bullies and thugs. they deserve juvenile hall. the administrators and parents should be sued, too. then they will pay attention.
Posted by: Curt Sloan | 25 April 2009 at 15:35
The prosecutor is throwing down the gauntlet.
Yes let's see what these schools and do nothing parents intend to do about bullying now.
Posted by: Shane Moseley | 25 April 2009 at 16:43
In this story about Mr. Herrera, we learn that he was called "snitch" in addition to gay. In the furor over the gay part, the snitch part is overlooked. Yes, there is a ghetto mentality at work here.
It was NOT overlooked that Jaheem was called a "snitch." It was mentioned in the very">http://rodonline.typepad.com/rodonline/2009/04/antigay-bullying-drives-11yo-georgia-buy-to-suicide.html">very first report on the Jaheem Herrera tragedy. It was also reported numerous times in the Carl">http://rodonline.typepad.com/rodonline/carl-joseph-walker-hoover/">Carl Joseph Walker-Hoover reports.
This is your third attempt to try to fact-check this blog. You're not reading the blog or previous posts, only scanning and looking to see what you believe is missing. Oh and given your email rants to me about black voters and Proposition 8, really, YOU do not want to even use the word "ghetto." Do not make this mistake again. -RM
Posted by: chamblee54 | 25 April 2009 at 19:51
Rod I was referring to the overall reporting on this tragedy. No, I have not read everything that you have written. I apologize for any confusion.
Okay, it was a misunderstanding. Apology accepted, sorry if I over-reacted and let's move forward. Just as an fyi, we've been talking about both of these stories almost nonstop for three weeks. You might want to read the Jaheem Herrera and Carl Joseph Walker-Hoover archives. Thanks. -RM
Posted by: chamblee54 | 25 April 2009 at 20:27
these schools need to toughen their stance on bullying...this can not continue
Posted by: Viktor | 26 April 2009 at 00:27
I hope that the schools and the persons who were bullying Jaheem and Carl are given some kind of punishment, a punishment that fits the crime. I was bullied when I was younger. I stutter, so of course, I was compared to Porky the Pig. So, on a certain level, I can understand what Jaheem and Carl were going through.
Posted by: Dex123ter | 26 April 2009 at 12:20
It just breaks my heart everytime I see Jaheem and Carls pictures. These mothers should stop talking to the media, and consult with lawyers ASAP! They can sue for negligence, pain and suffering. The district needs to pay up!
Posted by: James | 27 April 2009 at 10:40