GEORGETOWN, Del. - A former student of Sussex Central High School has filed a lawsuit alleging her privacy was violated after she says school staff shared images of her exposed breast in a meme created from surveillance footage.
The lawsuit names Sussex Central High School, the Indian River School District, Bradley Layfield, and Matthew Jones as the defendants. Layfield and Jones are listed as the acting principal and assistant principal, respectively, at the time of the incident in May of 2023.
According to the suit, the plaintiff, an 18-year-old student at the time, was pulled away from an argument with another student by a female staff member of Sussex Central High on the morning of May 17. The staff member, the suit reads, pulled her away forcefully, causing her clothes to come apart and exposing her breast. The incident was reportedly caught on school surveillance cameras.
The complaint continues that the student was then brought to the school’s administrative office to fill out an incident report and joined by assistant principal Jones and principal Layfield. Jones allegedly told the student he would review the security footage, while Layfield allegedly told the student to take off from school for a few days.
When the student returned on May 19th, the lawsuit says she discovered a meme had been created from the surveillance footage showing the student with her exposed breast and an image of singer Janet Jackson’s face superimposed on hers.
The lawsuit alleges that Jones had created the meme on his school-issued laptop and shared it with various High School staff members.
Multiple counts are alleged against the defendants in the lawsuit including invasion of privacy, and intentional infliction of emotional distress.
In August, the Neuberger Firm, representing Layfield, issued a press release defending the principal from what they claim was a wrongful suspension. The release, dated August 21st, says that Layfield had been suspended as principal on May 22nd and that attorney Thomas Neuberger had conducted his own investigation.
“This suspension is now 12 weeks old and the next school year is upon us. I have completed my investigation and I have concluded that there is no factual basis for this suspension. It appears that the suspension mistakenly occurred because my client exercised his discretion on May 17th in sharing a surveillance video with professional staff with a need to know of a dangerous school fight, with racial overtones, that erupted that day,” said Neuberger.
Neuberger’s press release goes on to detail the hourly events following the incident on May 17th and argues the principal followed protocol. Layfield, Neuberger says, reviewed the surveillance footage with various staff multiple times to keep them informed of the incident.
No mention of a meme is made in Neuberger’s release defending Layfield.
WBOC reached out to Thomas Neuberger’s office today, September 12th for comment. Neuberger says there is a pending criminal investigation into the matter at the request of the Indian River School District that has not produced evidence of wrongdoing against his client.
Neuberger tells WBOC Layfield had nothing to do with the creation or dissemination of a meme.
In response to an inquiry from WBOC on Tuesday, the Indian River School District says it does not comment on pending litigation.