ORLANDO, Fla. – The family of a minor Black student at a Volusia County school is suing the school board for the young boy’s unlawful detention, false arrest and imprisonment, and suspension, claiming his race played a part.
Plaintiffs Edward Hollins, Lakesha Hollins, and Kendrick Douglas Jr., on behalf of their minor child K.D., filed a lawsuit last month in U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida, Orlando Division.
The named defendants are Volusia County School Board and Devon Staropoli, a district mental health counselor at Volusia County Schools in DeLand.
“Volusia actively caused, engaged in, facilitated in, participated in, and ratified the unlawful detention, false arrest, false imprisonment of this child, and suspended him for ten days out-of-school suspension (‘OSS’) based on Staropoli’s false and ridiculous allegations,” the 43-page complaint states.
K.D. was a 10-year-old Black student at Volusia’s Holly Hill Elementary, where Staropoli asked for a hug from the child.
Staropoli had the child falsely arrested for sexual assault and/or battery based on her false allegations that the boy groped and cupped her breast after she turned to the side for the hug, the suit states.
The family argues K.D.’s classroom teacher was the only witness to the incident on that day, Oct. 24, 2022, and she told police she did not see the boy commit the acts alleged by Staropoli.
“Volusia took the white counselor Staropoli’s false allegations as true without any basis in fact, over the word of its African-American student and despite the classroom teacher stating she did not see the alleged acts occur,” the complaint states.
“Yet, Staropoli had a known history in Volusia of hugging on minors.”
The family contends K.D. was “petrified” of the police and sought protection behind his grandmother when police approached him after he arrived at the police station.
Prior to that, he had never been arrested, placed in police custody, detained by police, or required to appear at a police station in his life, they contend.
As the accusations against K.D. were false, the state attorney and juvenile court eventually dropped the charge against him within a relatively short amount of time, the suit notes..
The plaintiffs argue Volusia did not follow its disciplinary policy in relation to its discipline of K.D.
The school system, they contend, did not involve his parents/guardians in its discipline prior to suspending him, nor did Volusia notify K.D.’s parents until after it had already unlawfully suspended the child.
Volusia also allegedly did not notify K.D.’s parents/guardians that Volusia had called the police to the school to arrest the boy for sexually deviant conduct falsely alleged by Staropoli.
“Volusia has an overwhelming history, custom, pattern, and practice of violating the due process and equal protection rights of its minority students based on race and/or disability, including through unlawful detention, false arrest and/or false imprisonment, and due process and equal protection violations, and even was under recent DOJ oversight for its punitive OSS (out of school suspension) of its minority students, and has multiple complaints of its staff physically assaulting its minority based on race and/or disabled students,” the filing states.
K.D.’s family claims they began to fear him remaining at Holly Hills due to the school system’s handling of the acts toward him and the false allegations.
“K.D was publicly humiliated and embarrassed by Defendant’s false sexually explicit allegations against him,” the lawsuit states. “K.D.’s grades declined as a result of Defendant’s false actions against him.”
His family contends they had to relocate him to a different school and have him undergo counseling because of the school system’s actions.
They also incurred attorney fees and “suffered mental anguish and pain,” their filing states.
The plaintiffs seek judgment against Staropoli for compensatory damages, punitive damages, costs, and attorneys’ fees.
Attorney Frank Allen in Ocoee, Florida, is representing the plaintiffs in the suit.
