By Khalida Sarwari
When 15-year-old Saratoga High School student Audrie Pott took her own life last September, the suicide was by and large considered a mystery. Now, seven months later the family claims there is truth to rumors of cyberbullying and sexual assault circulating around the school and in the community at the time.
The Pott family held a news conference in San Jose on April 15 to announce a wrongful death lawsuit filed in Santa Clara County Superior Court against three boys accused of raping Audrie at a Labor Day weekend party and then electronically distributing at least one photo of the sexual assault to other students in the school.
“There is more to this story, and the parents deserve answers,” said Robert Allard, the attorney representing the Pott family. “Students at the school know what happened. They have heard the suspects talk about the assault and share photos. I am urging parents to have a discussion with their kids, tell them it is the honorable thing to do to come forward with information.”
The suit–which names the three boys and the owners of the home where the party took place–will give Allard and his team legal authority to subpoena cell phone and other electronic records as well as interview witnesses under penalty of perjury. There is also a separate criminal case under way investigated by the Santa Clara County District Attorney’s Office.
Allard and Audrie’s family shared new details of the incident that they claim led to the young girl’s death. The party, they said, took place at the home of a friend of Audrie’s, whose parents were not home at the time. Audrie and her friend found alcohol at the house and Audrie became “intoxicated and unconscious,” Allard said.
Later, she went to a bedroom to sleep off her intoxication, but was awakened by three boys–football players–who she considered her friends. The boys sexually assaulted her while they were sober and took cell phone photos of the violation, Allard said. Soon after, the photos were distributed among other students at Saratoga High.
“In Audrie’s own words, ‘The whole school knows,'” Allard said. “At a time when Audrie should have been worried about things like who her date would be at an upcoming dance, she was forced to have to deal with the worst nightmare that one can possibly imagine.”
To escape this nightmare, Audrie was driven to end her life about a week later, Allard said.
The investigation began about two months ago after the Pott family contacted Allard to look into the text messages they’d found on Audrie’s cell phone and messages on her Facebook account. Allard hired private investigators Ted Marfia and Mike Leininger, both former San Jose police officers, for the job.
Fighting back tears, Audrie’s father, Larry Pott, described his daughter as a girl who was “full of life” with a passion for art, music, soccer and the outdoors.
“Most of you have only seen pictures of Audrie, and while you have seen what a beautiful girl she is on the outside, we want you to know she was so much more beautiful on the inside,” Larry Pott said.
Audrie’s mother, Sheila Pott, and stepmother, Lisa Pott, also spoke at the news conference. All three emphasized that they hope their daughter’s story brings light to the issue of sexual assault and cyberbullying among teens.
“As difficult as this is, we know that people can learn from it,” Lisa Pott said. “No one should have to lose their daughter in this horrific way, and we wanted to start a dialogue so that these sexual assaults are no longer swept under the carpet.”
The family planned to attend a detention hearing for the accused boys on April 16. All three were arrested last week and are being held in juvenile hall on sexual assault and distribution of pornography charges.
Saratoga: Pott family files wrongful death suit, seeks answers
