Mallory Grossman Died By Suicide After Cyberbullying, Family Sues NJ School District

The parents of 12-year-old Mallory Grossman, who killed herself in June, said Tuesday they would sue Rockaway Township school district in New Jersey for not being able to prevent the alleged cyberbullying that led to the girl’s suicide.

The girl's mother, Dianne Grossman, and the family's attorney said the school district did nothing to stop the alleged online harassment of her daughter by a group of girls at school that continued for months, NBC New York reported. The family mentioned they might also consider suing the parents of "three or four" children at the school for allowing them to bully Mallory for months. Dianne said she spoke to one of the alleged bullies' mother before the day of her daughter's death and the mother ignored her, and said it was just a big joke.

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Mallory, a gymnast and a cheerleader at the school district, killed hersel just a week before completing sixth grade, according to her mother. "There was a pattern, a regular history pattern of who the school district dismissing my concerns," Dianne said.

Dianne also said she and her husband made the school district aware of the problems earlier but they did not pay heed to their concerns, NBC New York reported. "We feel we followed the school’s protocol," she said.

"We started low on the totem pole and worked our way up until it finally made its way to the principal. Their words were, ‘We’ll investigate it, we’ll look into it.’"

Dianne added, "I’m going to make the assumption the school did something, but I’m also going to make the assumption, based on where we are today, that they didn’t do enough."

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The family's lawyer, Bruce Nagel, described the messages Mallory received as "vile and malicious," according to Fox5 New York. "For months, there were texts, there was Snapchat, there was Instagram. For months she was told she's a loser, she has no friends. And finally, she was even told, 'Why don't you kill yourself?'" said Nagel, who also noted that a cellphone could be "a lethal weapon" in the wrong hands.

Accusing the institution did not do enough, Nagel said: "They should have taken steps to bring in the children, bring in the parents and get this stopped."

"Cyberbullying is similar to other types of bullying, except it takes place online and through text messages sent to cell phones. Cyberbullies can be classmates, online acquaintances, and even anonymous users, but most often they do know their victims," according to the National Crime Prevention Council. It has become an issue of concern throughout the world with the increasing usage of internet as a mode of communication among children, teenagers and adults.

According to a recent survey conducted by the Pew Research Center among the adults and teens in the United States, 41 percent of the 4,248 poll participants said they were personally harassed online, and about 66 percent said they noticed others being cyberstalked or bullied online. The study also found 14 percent of adults in the country faced cyberbullying due to their political stance, followed by an individual's appearance (9 percent), race (8 percent), gender (8 percent), among other factors.

In December when Brandy Vela, a Texas teenager, died by suicide after being harassed online, her family insisted tighter laws were required to curb cyberbullying. Vela received abusive text messsages on her cellphone and also on Facebook, according to CBS News.

Another similar incident in April led to the death of a Pennsylvania high school freshman. The student was said to have received vulgar text messages from classmates, according to the Daily Mail.

In an obituary, Mallory is remembered as the 12-year-old girl devoted to helping others. "Mal loved the outdoors and nature. She loved flowers, every color and shape. She was compassionate. She raised money often and would send every penny to her favorite charity, Camp Good Days. This camp provides summer camp experiences for children with cancer and children who have lost someone dear to them with cancer. Selfless. It was her giving spirit and love for all people and things that drove her to move mountains," her obituary reads.

Mallory's well-wishers and loved ones also created a Facebook page, "Mallory's Army," which conveys the larger message for cyberbullying to be stopped so that it does not lead to such consequences. A GoFundMe page was also created to help the girl's family.