A ten-year-old boy took his own life after suffering horrific bullying at school, with his family saying he had warned officials 20 times about the ongoing abuse.
Sammy Teusch, from Greenfield, Indiana, died by suicide on May 5 and according to his family, was being bullied up until the night he passed away.
His parents Sam and Nichole say he was both physically and emotionally bullied at school, with Sammy being recently beaten up on a school bus.
The bullying started last year when he was in elementary school, and followed him to Greenfield Intermediate School.
According to the family, Sammy told teachers and other staff about the bullying 20 times.
His father Sam told WTHR: ‘They were making fun of him for his glasses in the beginning, then on to make fun of his teeth. It went on for a long time.’
‘I held him in my arms. I did the thing no father should ever have to do, and anytime I close my eyes, it’s all I can see.
The abuse then got physical, Sam added: ‘He was beat up on the school bus, and the kids broke his glasses and everything.
‘I called the school, and I’m like, ‘What are you doing about this? It keeps getting worse, and worse, and worse. And it’s not getting any better. It’s getting worse.’
Speaking to 21alive, his grandmother Cynthia said: ‘They can’t just say they have zero tolerance because that doesn’t mean there is zero tolerance about bullies.
‘Their zero tolerance means that they don’t have responsibility for it. People trust their kids to the school, but now that trust is breaking down.’
The outlet approached Dr. Harold Olin for an interview. He said he was unavailable but claimed the family had never submitted a bullying report.
Olin added that school administrators had conversations with the family throughout the year but wouldn’t share the content of these conversations.
Sam added: ‘[The school] knew this was going on’, with the bullying going from the school and the bus to social media platforms like Snapchat.
His mom Nichole said: ‘He was my little boy. He was my baby. He was the youngest one.’
