Levi Sever Gets 90 Days For The Attack

Levi Sever, that fifteen year old high school student, who viciously assaulted Zachary Huston while his cousin filmed the attack, will serve 90 days in a juvenile detention center for the assault. Sever pleaded guilty, and was also ordered to undergo mental health counseling and continue his education during his detention.
I would have added that he needed to find another school in which to finish his education.
Zachary Huston was assaulted by Sever last October in a classroom at Unioto High School allegedly because he is gay. Huston and his mother, Rebecca Collins, allege that school officials did not respond appropriately to their reports about bullying due to Zach's sexual orientation. 
The unprovoked attack prompted the Ohio chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union to threaten legal action against the school district unless it amends the district’s anti-bullying policy to specifically prohibit the harassment of LGBT students, but, to this day, school officials have declined to address the ACLU’s request. 
So, a young boy gets beaten.
Another young boy gets sentenced to three months at a juvenile detention facility.
The school does nothing to change its policies.
They ought to be ashamed.


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Update 3 On That Videotaped Beating Of A Gay Student

Levi Sever has been identified as the 15-year-old assailant of a gay student, now identified as Zachary Huston, at Unioto High School. And now, Levi Sever is being charged with a delinquency count of assault. Sever will appear in juvenile court later today to answer the charge.

Levi Sever is accused of assaulting  Zachary Huston at the high school two weeks ago, while his cousin videotaped the attack, and then posted the footage online.

The case gained national attention when the video went viral and shocked many people who watched as Zachary was attacked by Levi Sever and other students simply stood by and did nothing to help. In light of that videotaped beating, more than 6,000 people joined a campaign on Change.org to urge the Union-Scioto school district in Ross County to change its anti-bullying policy to address sexual orientation and gender identity, and the district’s Facebook page was overrun with comments from people who object to the district’s handling of the incident.

According to a sheriff’s office report, deputies were called to Unioto High School after a Levi Sever repeatedly punched Zachary Huston, and then threw him to the ground. Another student, as yet unidentified, though she is said to be Levi Sever's cousin, made a cell-phone video of the attack.

Rebecca Collins, Zachary's mother,  told investigators that the attack is “a hate crime” because her son is gay; she provided numerous Facebook messages that had been posted about her son before the attack..

The school principal, who says he spoke to witnesses after the attack, claims no one heard any anti-gay slurs during the attack, but should we believe these "witnesses" who stood by and watched a fellow student being brutalized, and said and did nothing, to help?

Union-Scioto schools Superintendent Dwight Garrett said his district has a zero-tolerance approach toward any form of harassment: “We had a bad situation happen. We’re doing the best we can. We want all children to be protected. There’s a problem nationwide with things like this.”

We're not talking about the nation, right now, Mr. Garrett. We're talking about a school in your district.

And when you say you're doing the best you can, then how do you explain that Zachary's mother had previously reported what she called nonphysical bullying of her son and nothing seemed to have come of that? And how do you explain a "three day suspension" for beating another student? And how do you explain your "revisiting" that suspension in the days following the attack? Garrett declined to detail what suspension or punishment the student received.

This was a failure on all levels to protect a child, any child, and should not be allowed to happen ever again. Anywhere.

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