Lawsuit: Inquiry in girl’s death was ‘stunt’
The probe into the suicide of 12-year-old Rebecca Sedwick was more of a “publicity stunt” than an actual investigation, a lawsuit filed Wednesday against the Polk County Sheriff’s Office claims.
Rebecca died Sept. 9, 2013. Two middle-school girls, ages 12 and 14, were arrested on felony aggravatedstalking charges related to Rebecca’s death.
The federal lawsuit, which specifically names Sheriff Grady Judd and Deputy Jonathan McKinney, was filed by two attorneys representing the family of the younger suspect.
The 25-page complaint said PCSO, Judd and McKinney used “the tragic death of a young girl as an opportunity for media attention.”
The complaint went on to say that the younger suspect was maliciously labeled as “the poster child example of a cyberbully” to media outlets nationwide after she was blamed for Rebecca’s apparent suicide in a news release issued by Polk County deputies.
The Oct. 15, 2013, release said Polk County detectives determined that Rebecca “committed suicide by jumping from a concrete silo tower to her death, and that the malicious harassment [by the 12-year-old suspect and a 14-year-old suspect] was likely a contributing factor in Rebecca’s decision to commit suicide.”
The lawsuit claimed the young girl was arrested “without any factual or legal basis.” It also said claims the girl admitted bullying Rebecca were false, and McKinney and Judd knew they were false when released to the media.
The 2013 statement said the older suspect, who was dating Rebecca’s ex-boyfriend, was responsible for most of the bullying, and she convinced the younger suspect to “beat up” Rebecca.
“Although the charges were unsubstantiated and ultimately dropped, the incident left the [12-year-old girl] devastated and irreparably damaged,” the lawsuit claimed.
Attorney Jose Baez, who represented the girl against the criminal charges, also criticized Judd’s handling of the investigation.
At a November 2013 news conference outside his Orlando office, Baez called the sheriff’s conduct “unconscionable,” “reckless” and “reprehensible” while criticizing him for talking about the case on national television and distributing arrest photos of the girls.
At the time, Baez asked Judd to publicly apologize to the two girls, but Judd did not apologize. He said he was complying with the state’s public-records law when he released information in the case.
Donna Wood, a spokeswoman for the Polk County Sheriff’s Office, said the claims in the lawsuit “have no merit.” She did not comment further because the case is still pending.
The girl’s family is seeking at least $15,000 in damages.