Girl, 11, who killed herself after being bullied over immigration status, said she was sexually abused by family member: investigation
An 11-year-old Texas girl who killed herself after being bullied about her family’s immigration status told friends she was inappropriately touched by a family member, according to shocking findings by her Texas school district.Jocelyn Rojo Carranza was found unresponsive in her family’s Gainesville home on Feb.3 and died in the hospital after five days of intensive care.The little girl’s mother, Marbella Carranza, claimed her daughter was bullied by students at Gainesville Intermediate School.
She said they mocked her because of the family’s immigration status and threatened to call Immigration and Customs Enforcement.The Gainesville Independent School District launched an investigation and confirmed that a student on Carranza’s bus made comments about ICE and deportation to a group of Hispanic students and that the girl was in earshot, according to the findings.Carranza reported the incident to her principal on Jan.30 after the topic of ICE came up again in class, the district said.
The district found that it was not the only time such an incident occurred and said the student was disciplined.After Carranza’s hospitalization the following week, students came forward to school officials and said that the girl and one of her brothers were the victims of bullying, which spurred the investigation.Kids also told administrators about Carranza’s disturbing claims of abuse, which she asked them to keep a secret.“It was reported by multiple students that [Carranza] told them that she had been inappropriately touched by a family member and wished to keep this a secret to avoid getting them in trouble,” Superintendent DesMontes Stewart said in the report.The district reported the claims to Child Protective Services, and said it is investigating.The district also found that the girl had previously expressed thoughts of self-harm to her cousin, who allegedly informed Carranza’s mother, and that she told a counselor in October about getting in trouble at h...