Family fury as girls who ‘ bullied their daughter to death’ are spared prison
A CouPLE who say their schoolgirl daughter was ‘bullied to death’ have hit out at the justice system after her tormentors walked free from court.
Ian and Sarah Lelonek claim 16-year- old Lauren suffered years of physical abuse and threats over social media before she took her life.
Despite calls to the police and meetings with Lauren’s school, Mr and Mrs Lelonek say little was done to help their daughter. She was found hanging at the home she shared with her parents and siblings Courtney, 19, Alicia, 15, Isobel, nine, and Harrison, eight, in Northwich, Cheshire, last June.
Last night Mr Lelonek, 37, said he and his wife were furious that bully Cassandra Taylor, 18, and another girl, 17, who cannot be named for legal reasons, were given community punishments after admitting harassing Lauren and another girl for six months in the lead-up to her death.
‘They bullied Lauren to death and got away with it,’ the postman said. ‘The hard part is knowing these girls are still walking around. We’ve had no justice, we feel so let down by the police, the school, everyone.’
Chester Youth Court heard that Taylor and her co-defendant physically and verbally bullied Lauren and the other schoolgirl, who cannot be named, between September 2015 and February 2016.
Mrs Lelonek, 34, said the bullying began when Lauren started secondary school but stepped up after the family reported an assault incident to police.
‘Around that time Lauren was pinned against a fence by her throat, dragged to the floor by her hair and booted as she lay on the ground,’ Mrs Lelonek said. ‘We reported it to the police but she was called a grass. They would wait for her outside school and make threats. She went through hell for years, not just the six months they said in court. When she decided to break away from these girls the bullying got worse.’
Lauren’s school, university of Chester Academy, in Northwich, carried out an internal investigation into her death. It said it was ‘not in a position to make a statement’ yesterday.
The Independent Police Com- plaints Commission is also investigating after Cheshire police referred themselves over their handling of events leading up to Lauren’s death. The court heard Lauren wanted Taylor prosecuted for assault but police wanted to deal with it at a ‘more local’ level.
Derek McDonald, defending, stressed that the prosecution was not ‘on the basis the girls were in any way directly responsible’ for Lauren’s death. Taylor, who pleaded guilty to two counts of harassment with fear of violence, was given a 12-month community order and told to carry out 120 hours of unpaid work.
Her co- defendant was given a 12- month referral order after admitting the same offences.
An inquest into Lauren’s death is expected later this year.
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