Gay Man Wins Settlement for School Beatings

A gay man who was beaten and tormented in school for years won a $900,000 out-of-court settlement Wednesday, ending the first federal trial of a school district for not protecting a gay student from harassment.

Jamie Nabozny had been regularly spat on and beaten up, subjected to a mock rape and kicked in the belly so many times over the years that he needed surgery, court testimony showed.

The settlement was announced one day after a jury found that three school administrators in Ashland violated Nabozny’s rights by failing to protect him. The jury had been scheduled to begin considering damages Wednesday.

The verdict marked the first time school officials have ever been held liable for anti-gay violence against a student, said Peg Byron, public education director for the Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund, a gay-rights group that represented Nabozny.

Nabozny said the gay-bashing started when he entered Ashland Middle School in 1988 and continued until he dropped out of Ashland High School as a junior.

The jury ruled against Middle School Principal Mary Podlesny and two high school administrators, Principal William Davis and Assistant Principal Thomas Blauert. Timothy Yanacheck, an attorney for the district, said the three were hurt by the verdict.

“School administrators are sympathetic to kids who are harassed by other kids in school. But for the most part that’s misbehavior that school administrators cannot prevent or control,” he said.