DES MOINES, Iowa — The jury’s verdict in the Safris vs. Urbandale Schools lawsuit has been published, with both the family and Urbandale Schools releasing statements.
The Safris family filed a lawsuit claiming that failure to follow policy and negligence in the classroom led to their daughter being assaulted by a classmate, eventually causing her to become suicidal. The incidents began in 2018 after she shared nude photos with a male classmate, who then began sharing those photos with others and assaulting her in class after she refused to go out with him.
After nine days of evidence and testimonies the jury was released to deliberate at the end of court on Thursday the 7th and reconvened at 9 a.m. on Friday morning. According to court documents, they reached a decision around 3:59 p.m., just over five hours after deliberation began.
The jury found the Urbandale School District guilty of negligence, but did not rule that they were a proximate cause of the damages done to the victim. This means that Urbandale Schools will not have to pay damages to the victim or the Safris family.