Family of girl, 12, sues after 'Brokeback' shown in class
May 13, 2007
FROM SUN-TIMES WIRES
A suit was filed on behalf of a 12-year-old girl who claims she suffered psychological distress when a teacher showed in class the gay-themed movie "Brokeback Mountain."
The girl, Jessica Turner, and her grandparents Kenneth and LaVerne Richardson, are seeking more than $400,000 in damages under the suit filed Friday against the Chicago Board of Education and others.
In her lawsuit, a 12-year-old girl claims she suffered psychological distress after watching "Brokeback Mountain."
According to the suit, a substitute teacher introduced herself as Ms. Buford to Jessica's class at Ashburn Community Elementary School, 8300 S. St. Louis Ave. She then said, "What happens in Ms. Buford's class stays in Ms. Buford's class," the suit claims. Buford then had a student close the door, and started showing the controversial R-rated film, which features two men engaged in sex.
he suit alleges Ashburn's principal, Jewel A. Diaz, was aware that the tale of the love between two cowboys set in the West of the 1960s was being shown to the minors.
Turner later told her grandfather that she was confined to her seat and felt she could not leave the room, according to the suit filed in Cook County Circuit Court.
The plaintiffs accuse Diaz, Buford and the Chicago Board of Education of negligence, false imprisonment and intentional infliction of emotional distress.
The suit claims Jessica continues to suffer from emotional distress caused by watching the film and is currently undergoing psychological treatment and counseling.
