A federal civil rights lawsuit has been filed against the Attala County School District and several school officials alleging a group of male students at McAdams High School were subjected to unconstitutional strip searches earlier this year.
According to the complaint filed June 15 in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Mississippi, the incident allegedly occurred Feb. 10 when several students were removed from a restroom area, detained and searched individually by school personnel and a school officer.
The lawsuit alleges the students were required to remove clothing, lower their undergarments and expose intimate areas of their bodies during the searches. The complaint states no contraband was found on any of the students.
The suit claims the searches violated the students’ rights under the Fourth and Fourteenth Amendments to the U.S. Constitution and also includes several state-law claims, including negligence, invasion of privacy and emotional distress.
Attorneys representing the families said the students’ identities are being withheld because they are minors and because of the sensitive nature of the allegations.
“The families allege their children were subjected to humiliating and invasive searches while at school,” the attorneys said in a press release announcing the lawsuit.
The plaintiffs are seeking compensatory damages, attorney’s fees, and changes to district policies and procedures governing student searches.
And despite initial reports, a spokesperson for the Attala County Sheriff’s Office told Breezy News the department is not named in the lawsuit and no defendants are affiliated with the ACSO.
As of this report, the allegations contained in the lawsuit had not been proven in court, and no response from the defendants had been filed in the case.
Documents:
- The complete federal complaint can be found HERE.
- The following press release was sent to Breezy News by the plaintiffs’ attorney Keith B. French.
