FARMINGTON, Maine — A father is taking legal action against a student at Mt. Blue High School in Farmington, saying he believes his daughter was attacked.
On Wednesday, two teen girls who attend the high school are accused of being involved in a school fight, and video of the apparent altercation circulated online.
Richard Adams said when he found out his 16-year-old daughter was involved in the fight, he figured it was just an incident between teens that got out of hand. But after seeing the video, Adams said he felt like the child who he accuses of assaulting his daughter should face harsher consequences.
"My first reaction was, 'Why, why do this Chloe? You're at school.' And she messaged back to me saying that she was attacked," Adams said. "And shortly after that, she showed me the pile of hair that got ripped out of her head."
Adams said his daughter suffered hair loss as well as bruises above her eyelashes and behind her ears, where hair was allegedly ripped out.
"My daughter is a tough girl. If it had been someone smaller, it could have been a lot worse," Adams said.
Both teens accused of being involved in the fight were suspended from school. Adams said he has met with the principal, Joel Smith, and the school has worked with him regarding the incident.
Smith was not available for an interview, but he did provide a statement regarding the matter.
"When addressing bullying or violent behaviors, we thoroughly investigate all incidents," Smith wrote in an email. "We follow school board policies/procedures and implement appropriate consequences. Additionally, we look to connect students with other available resources, such as social workers, school counselors, and other community resources."
Smith added that the school's assistant principal handles all matters of student management and discipline and that there is a school resource officer who assists when needed.
Despite the efforts that the school is taking to work with Adams, he said he still felt like more should be done.
Adams said he has not spoken to the other teen's parents. He said his first thought was to reach out to the child's parents, being that both girls were friends before the incident happened. However, he explained he changed his mind because he was not sure whether he would be able to discuss the incident with the teen's parents with a clear head.
Adams said he went back and forth with himself about what next steps to take, but that he ultimately felt the need to protect his child.
For those reasons, he said he decided to file a police report, pressing assault charges on the student involved.
"The way it happened, there was no way we could talk anything through this. You know, I felt that consequences needed to be dealt," Adams said.
The police report landed on Farmington police Chief Kenneth Charles' desk, leaving him to wonder if parents are giving children the proper tools to resolve conflict when they feel pressured to protect their image in front of their peers.
"In that moment, you feel so emotional. You don't have a proper outlet," he said. "You don't have an appropriate response and thinking, 'This is how I'll always be regarded. This isn't something I can walk away from.'"
The other teen's mother said the issue allegedly started with name-calling, and she explained she has since talked to her daughter and encouraged her to get an adult involved rather than attempting to resolve a conflict on her own.
NEWS CENTER Maine requested to interview the other parents of the teen involved, but the child's parent was not able to do an in-person or Zoom interview due to scheduling conflicts.
Charles said parents have to make sure they are giving their children the proper tools to respond to conflict. He also explained parents should be as involved as possible, interceding and communicating with other children's parents to help children navigate through social conflicts.
He said the more proactive parents are in making sure they instill effective problem-solving skills in their children, the more likely children will grow to be adults who can effectively communicate their emotions and resolve conflict.
Charles said he encourages students to utilize counseling and mental health resources that are available in school. He said he also acknowledges that there will always be conflict, but said times are much different than when he was growing up.
"I grew up in the '70s and '80s, and it's not like conflict wasn’t an issue then, but it wasn’t as in your face," Charles said. "Certainly, people weren't walking around watching every playground fight with a phone in their hand recording it, but that's the environment that kids are faced with nowadays. It's now, and it's immediate, and it's emotional. What do we expect from these kids?"
Charles said the child charged with assault in this incident likely will not face any time behind bars, but other consequences may be given.
The report has been passed down to the district attorney and will be handled by juvenile corrections.
Adams said he hopes other children who are experiencing conflict in school seek help from administrators or counselors. He also said his daughter took the initiative to seek counseling after the incident to work through the emotional stress he said it has caused.