Parents of Zion Guzman-Milton, student attacked at Valley Stream South High School, suing district
Valley Stream South High School in Valley Stream. (Sept. 23, 2014) Credit: Ian J. Stark
The parents of a Valley Stream South High School student are suing their school district in federal court for failing to properly handle what they say was a brutal attack on their son two years ago.
Zion Guzman-Milton suffered an epidural hemorrhage behind his right eye as a result of the incident, had 32 stitches and was hospitalized for four days, according to court records.
High school principal Maureen Henry, assistant principals Kara Jacobson and Jacquelin Allen, and dean of students Michael Mahler were among several school employees named in the lawsuit.
Superintendent Bill Heidenreich said through a spokeswoman that the district “cannot comment on active litigation.”
A Nassau County Police Department spokesman said officers responded to the scene on the day of the attack at 2:46 p.m. He said someone was arrested in connection with the incident but offered no additional information.
The injured boy’s parents, Christopher Milton and Wendy Guzman, say the attack was racially motivated.
A spokesman from the Nassau County District Attorney’s office said, “The facts and circumstances surrounding this case are sealed,” and would offer no additional information.
Frederick K. Brewington, the lawyer representing the student, said his client’s injuries were serious.
“He had to have an emergency craniotomy,” Brewington said.
The boy’s parents say the school’s nurses did not properly assess him after the incident and “willfully failed to notify the appropriate medical agencies,” worsening his condition.
They say, too, that the district did little to protect their son, now 16, after he returned to school in February 2014: They say he was threatened by the other student’s friends.
To date, court papers said, the family has not “received notice of any efforts to prevent such incidents of bullying, harassment and stalking to provide additional security and safety measures” to protect the student from further harassment.
The parents say school officials and employees “were negligent, grossly negligent, careless and/or reckless, in failing to properly supervise their students.”
