Bullied trans teen ran away and was sex trafficked after school kept family’s gender transition a secret: lawsuit

A Virginia high school student ran away from home and was subjected to sex trafficking in multiple states, in part because her high school failed to tell the boy’s parents that she identified as male and was relentlessly harassed for it, a woman alleges. demand.

“My right to protect my daughter was stolen from me,” grandmother and foster mother Michele Blair, now 16, told the Washington Examiner of Sage.

Sage, who had a troubled childhood and suffered from mental health issues, began attending Appomattox County High School at age 14 on August 10, 2021, where she began to identify as male, using masculine pronouns and a given name. male and using the men’s bathrooms, according to a lawsuit filed by Michele in federal court in Virginia last month.

But even though school staff were actively involved in Sage’s desire to become a boy and knew of the repeated bullying she suffered, they “deliberately concealed” the gender change and did not involve her parents until it was too late and Sage he escaped. She then ended up being raped by multiple men over months in four different states, the lawsuit claims.

Just one day into the start of the school year, on August 11, 2021, Sage began being viciously harassed by boys on her bus who said she looked like a boy, threatened to rape her until she “liked boys” and threatened to keep her. out of school. window of her bus by her hair unless she apologized and threatened to shoot him, saying they knew where she lived, the lawsuit alleges.

Michele Blair sued the Appomattox County School Board for allegedly failing to inform her that her daughter, Sage Blair, identified as a man and was terribly bullied for it.WDBJ

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The next day, Sage met with two guidance counselors and told them that he identified as a boy and talked to them about the bus incident. But the employees did not disclose any information to Michele, court documents say.

Throughout the month, Sage continued to be intimidated by children in the boys’ restrooms and in the hallways, with her tormentors “groping her, threatening knife violence and rape, and pushing her against the hallway wall,” the lawsuit claims.

Counselors met with Sage eight days out of the first 12 of the school year, but did not tell Michele that they were counseling her daughter about her “gender nonconformity” and “affirming her as a man” while encouraging the slight 100- beats the girl to get her to use the boys’ bathroom despite known threats from male students, the lawsuit states.

The bullying got so bad that other parents began making reports about it to the school, court documents say.

It wasn’t until August 25 that the counselor finally told Michele that Sage was using the boys’ bathroom, citing only “safety concerns,” and still failed to inform the parents of their son’s gender identity change. and the harassment he faced because of it, the file alleges.

The counselor told Michele that he “noticed self-harm injuries on [Sage’s] body,” the newspapers say.

Sage Blair poster missing.Michele Blair says she could have intervened to prevent Sage from running away and being a victim of sex trafficking for months, if the school had involved her.WDBJ

Earlier that day, Michele found a school hall pass with the name “Draco” on it, prompting Sage to tell her mother that she identified as a man, revealing the threats she endured and the fear she felt, she claims. the demand.

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Sage told Michele that she “would not have been using the boys’ bathroom” if her counselor had not “instructed her to do so,” the lawsuit claims.

But the terrified teen “had a psychotic breakdown and decided to run away” that night, sneaking out her bedroom window and leaving a note for her parents, the lawsuit claims.

“You’ve done your job, Jesus loves you,” the note read, according to the lawsuit.

Appomattox County High SchoolThe school allegedly knew about multiple bullying incidents Sage faced, but they did not tell Michele. Appomattox County High School

“I’m afraid of what will come if I stay. Be on guard. There are bad people around here, ”she said, signing the letter with“ All my love ”.

Sage was “kidnapped and raped by a strange adult male” who then took her to Washington DC leaving her with two other men who also drugged and raped her, the lawsuit claims.

Those two men then took her to Maryland leaving her with a registered sex offender who kept her locked in a room after raping and sex-trafficking her with others, the lawsuit claims.

Sage was eventually rescued by federal authorities in Baltimore, where “the nightmare should have ended,” Blair’s attorney, Vernadette Broyles, told the Washington Examiner.

But the state took custody of Sage after Baltimore public defender Aneesa Khan claimed the parents were not “sufficiently affirming” Sage’s new gender identity, the lawsuit claims.

Sage was placed in a youth center for boys “where she was again sexually assaulted, exposed to drugs, and denied medical and mental health care,” the lawsuit alleges.

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Sage Blair poster missing.Sage was missing for months and was flown to several different states by pedophiles who drugged and raped her, the lawsuit claims. WDBJ

Sage fled that facility on November 12, 2021, and was picked up by another pedophile who took her to Texas “where she was again raped, drugged, starved, and tortured,” the lawsuit claims.

Ultimately, Sage was returned to Michele after authorities rescued her in Texas on January 24, 2022, court documents state.

As a result of what happened to her, Sage was diagnosed with complex post-traumatic stress disorder “for which she will likely need therapy for the rest of her life,” the lawsuit says, noting that the teen has been inpatient and outpatient. she therapies since she returned home.

Another Blair lawyer, Mary McAlister, told The Post: “All of this could have been avoided if Sage’s parents had been fully informed about her mental state and given the opportunity to provide her with the necessary mental health advice when she started to question his identity.

“Instead, both the school district and the public defender’s office decided they knew more than the parents. As a result of her arrogance, Sage was victimized multiple times.”

The family is now suing the Appomattox County School Board, the two school counselors and the Khan for unspecified damages.

Appomattox County Public Schools Superintendent Annette Bennett and Khan did not immediately respond to requests for comment Monday.

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Source: vtt.edu.vn

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