16-year-old Anders Hemdal, currently a junior at Schuylkill Valley High School in Leesport, PA, is suing the school district after being suspended for having sex with his then-girlfriend on a school trip to Spain and Morocco last spring. Another student, identified only as J.H., secretly recorded the encounter and showed it to others. Hemdal says he reported the incident, and was subsequently suspended for "disorderly conduct."
Hemdal filed a civil rights suit last Thursday, which claims defamation, invasion of privacy, and emotional distress. He's seeking over $75,000 in damages, and wants the incident expunged from his record. Hemdal says he was entitled to a disciplinary hearing, but was suspended for four days even though the school only bans sexual activity on its grounds.
Hamdel also says that there was a form that acknowledged that students who participated in sexual activity could be sent home from the trip, but no other disciplinary action was mentioned. It's unclear how J.H. managed to record the encounter, but a yet-to-be-named parent informed Hemdal's parents about the video a week after the trip.
Hemdal was angry that his name was mentioned when school employees were made aware of the video. Hemdal's parents say that the aftermath has forced them to seek family counseling.
[via NY Daily News]
