GALVESTON – A Galveston County woman alleges that a local private school failed to protect her son from bullying.
Maureen Beans sued Trinity Episcopal School in the Galveston County 405th District Court on May 5, claiming the young boy endured harassment from a few students when he was enrolled from 2014-2016.
Joining Trinity as co-defendants are David C. Dearman, the school’s headmaster, and the unidentified bullies’ parents.
Per Beans, her son, who is black, attended a school that is predominately white. She asserts the mistreatment began when the boy’s classmates handed him a piece of origami resembling hoods worn by Ku Klux Klan members.
The purported bullying continued until Beans removed the child from Trinity on Apr. 19, 2016.
"Ms. Beans was forced to remove her son from enrollment at Trinity on April 19, 2016," the original petition says. "He was no longer able to endure the bullying, harassment, and racial discrimination imputed on him by three of his classmates. These three students made and handed C.R. “KKK origami” resembling the hoods wore by KKK members, verbally abused him with “KKK beats,” stated that their fathers were “dragon masters of the KKK” and generally bullied, harassed, and racially discriminated against him to the point that he no longer felt safe and comfortable to attend Trinity".
According to recent court papers, the school failed to discipline the students nor provide Beans’ son any recourse.
The boy reportedly from anxiety attacks, trauma, panic attacks, and depression as a result of his time at Trinity.
A jury trial is requested.
Attorneys Levi G. McCathern, II and Daryoush Behbood of the McCathern Law Firm in Dallas are representing Beans.
Galveston County 405th District Court Case No. 17-CV-0566