Lake Central School Corp. sued over alleged beating of student

Lake Central School Corp. is being accused of violating the civil rights of a 17-year-old student who allegedly was beaten Nov. 8 by Lake Central High School classmates, including baseball and football players.

According to the suit filed Monday in Lake Superior Court by attorney Kenneth J. Allen, Lake Central High Principal Robert McDermott failed to intervene when a group of male students repeatedly bullied and taunted junior David Osama Haddad as a "terrorist" over the past year because of his Middle Eastern heritage.

Calling the group of male students "thugs" and "hooligans," Allen said Lake Central officials failed to prevent the beating.

"The principal turned a blind eye to the repeated bullying and harassment of this student," Allen said Monday during a news conference at his Merrillville office.

The lawsuit names as defendants George Baranowski, president of the Lake Central School Board; Lawrence Veracco, superintendent; McDermott; and Sean Begley, assistant principal of Lake Central High.

Lake Central officials did not return calls for comment from The Times.

Osama Haddad and Hind Haddad, David's parents, accompanied Allen to the news conference. They said they filed the lawsuit to prevent such an incident from happening to any other student.

"We'd like David to be safe," Hind Haddad said. "We want David to finish his education."

The Haddads emigrated from Jordan in 1978. They and their four children all are American citizens. They moved from Chicago to Dyer in 2006. David is the youngest of three boys.

"At first, we told David to just ignore the words," Hind Haddad said.

But the verbal attacks increased, and one incident at their Dyer home caused the parents to contact McDermott, she said.

The family said, several weeks ago, the same group of students came to the Haddad home looking for David.

"I told David that a group of boys was outside asking for him," Osama Haddad said. "He told me they wanted him to come outside so they could beat him up."

The family called Dyer police, but the group reportedly fled before authorities arrived.

"I talked with Mr. McDermott, and he said he would talk with the parents," Hind Haddad said.

But, Allen said, the same group approached David Haddad in a hallway Nov. 8, pulled his hoodie over his head and beat him repeatedly in the head and neck.

"The principal called me at work and said, 'I think David needs to see a doctor,'" said Hind Haddad, a nurse who works in Chicago. "No cops were called. No ambulance was called. We had to take him to Community Hospital ourselves."

In addition to multiple bruises and blood clots, David Haddad suffered a traumatic brain injury, Allen said.

"It has affected his vision and balance, although he is able to talk and to walk," the attorney said. "We are seeking monetary damages, which a jury can award."

Allen said the males involved in the incident include star senior and junior football and baseball players.

They are named in a temporary restraining order also filed Monday to prevent any alteration of the video surveillance taken of the beating or prior complaints involving the students. The Times has chosen not to name the players.

None of the students was disciplined, Allen said. David Haddad, however, was suspended for 10 days for throwing one punch as he was trying to get up off the floor, the attorney said.

"It's painful as a parent to see this happen," Osama Haddad said.

"This is a parent's nightmare, when they call you to tell you your son has been beaten up," Hind Haddad said. "It's unbelievable."