Father sues, claiming school meeting allowed bully to beat daughter

Lawsuit records indicate a Philadelphia seventh-grader was beaten by her alleged tormentor at a meeting called to discuss the issue. The suit, filed last week by Faruq Robinson on behalf of his daughter, names the Philadelphia school district, the School Reform Commission and six employees of Andrew Hamilton School as defendants. The complaint says Robinson's daughter was stalked and bullied by another student as early as the fall of 2011, causing Robinson and his wife, since deceased, to regularly report the incidents to the middle school's principal and counselor. It adds the alleged bully punched Robinson's daughter during a Nov. 24, 2011, meeting held at the school to address the issue. The suit says security was absent at the meeting, and the fight between the students was broken up by the students' mothers. It alleges the school took no corrective action to stop the bullying Robinson's daughter transferred to another school in 2012, the Philadelphia news website philly.com reported Tuesday. The suit asks for over $131,000 in punitive and compensatory damages, as well as attorney's fees.