Teen Suicide Caused by Bullies

On this Day of Silence, it’s important to remember the now-silent victims of physical and psychological abuse at school, commonly known as bullying. The event tends to focus on LGBT issues because homophobia is commonly a bully’s weapon of choice. And according to the Trevor Project, LGBT teens are up to four times more likely to attempt suicide than their heterosexual peers.

But as we know, you don’t even have to identify as gay to feel the pain and abuse of homophobia. Two years ago, 17-year-old Eric Mohat of Mentor, Ohio killed himself after the abuse became too much to bear. His parents filed suit against Mentor School District for not protecting their son.

The lawsuit — filed March 27, alleges that the quiet but likable boy, who was involved in theater and music, was called “gay,” “fag,” “queer” and “homo” and often in front of his teachers. Most of the harassment took place in math class and the teacher — an athletic coach — was accused of failing to protect the boy.

The parents aren’t seeking any compensation; rather, they are asking that Mentor High School recognize their son’s death as a “bullicide” and put in place what they believe is a badly needed anti-bullying program.

Picture from Eric's myspace page (click to link)

The bullying “accumulated over time,” Myers told ABCNews.com. “In math class, two or three picked on him constantly and mercilessly. Most of it was verbal, but they did some things like sitting behind him and flicking him in the ear, sticking stuff in his hoodie and putting eraser shavings on his head. Out of class they would shove him in lockers.”

Much of the taunting was related to him being considered gay, though Eric Mohat’s parents said the teen “didn’t identify himself that way,” Myers said.

“He may have looked effeminate, was in theater and would wear bright clothes,” said Myers. “He was a skinny kid, and so the kids found something that bothered him and went for that.”

The parents say Eric Mohat routinely ignored the teasing but complained to the teacher, who responded by moving the bullies’ desks.

“The next day, they were back and it made it worse,” said Myers. “They may have thought he was a snitch and the parents didn’t know how bad it was.”

But March 29, 2007, one bully pushed Eric Mohat too far with a remark about killing himself, the lawsuit alleges. The teen took a legally registered gun from his father’s bureau drawer, locked himself in his room and shot himself in the head.

“According to the kids who talked to us, his class was hell on earth,” she said. But school officials took the attitude that “they are just being kids, boys are just being boys.”

“When he came on and told us about what going on, I said I need to be involved, but he said, ‘No, it’s under control,’ that the teacher had caught them and handled it,” said his mother.

But days before the suicide, Eric Mohat told his mother, “I get picked on every day and I’ve got a whole nine weeks left. I can’t do this anymore.”

“We never had a chance to help him,” she said, choking back tears.

“It shouldn’t require legal action to get the school system to pay more attention to bullying than they do to their sports programs,” said his father. “How many suicides is enough?”