LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) — A former Jefferson County Public School student is suing the district after a fight with a staff member.
The fight was recorded on cell phone video, inside a school bathroom. The district said that staff member is no longer employed with JCPS.
According to court records, the fight started over the number of paper towels the student used.
An attorney for the victim tells WDRB the staff member seen hitting his client in the video is Sharlene Hall. Hall was featured in an "I am JCPS" promotional video in 2022. At the time, Hall was a plant manager within the district. In the video she talked extensively about how much she loved her job.
“And make sure they feel loved and comfortable like they are at their homes, ya know, a lot of kids do come to the custodians to talk, to make them feel comfortable and loved and have a clean and safe environment that is what I’m supposed to do,” Hall said in the promotional video.
Hall recently pleaded guilty to fourth-degree assault in the criminal case. According to the complaint against her, Hall hit a student several times while she was on the floor, and another staff member stepped in to stop the fight. Hall has not yet been sentenced in that case.
That student and her mother have now filed a civil suit against the district and Hall.
“I think she wants some sort of acknowledgment of the wrong that was done to her," Kyle Kaiman, the lawyer for the family, said.
Kaiman said in the days following the attack, his client struggled to come back to school out of fear of retribution.
“She tried to go back for a little bit, at one point she was doing some sort of in-house schooling like in a library,” Kaiman said. “One thing that did happen, she ended up having to graduate early from school, she missed her whole senior year, and that's a big deal for her."
The victim is currently living at home with her mother, hoping for justice in this case.
The district said Hall is no longer employed by the district, and they don't comment on pending litigation.
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