Lawyer for Teen in SC School Assault Video Speaks on Injuries She Suffered, Whether She Is an Orphan and Fake GoFundMe Pages

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October 31, 2015

On Thursday a lawyer for the 16-year-old South Carolina teen who was assaulted by a Spring Valley High School resource officer spoke with radio host Joe Madison.

By STEPHEN A. CROCKETT JR, The Root

Attorney and state Rep. Todd Rutherford (center) with fellow lawmakers at the South Carolina Statehouse July 9, 2015, in Columbia
SEAN RAYFORD/GETTY IMAGES

On Thursday a lawyer for the South Carolina teen who was violently assaulted by a school resource officer appeared on activist Joe Madison’s radio show on Sirius to clarify remarks posted about the teen and the incident.

On Monday, video of the incident between Spring Valley High School resource officer Ben Fields and the teen went viral. The footage showed the officer slamming the teen out of her seat and then tossing her across the room. Since the release of the footage, Fields has been fired from the Richland County Sheriff’s Department, and the FBI and U.S. Justice Department are investigating the incident to determine whether the former senior deputy will face charges.

In a New York Daily News article posted Wednesday, attorney Todd Rutherford was quoted as saying that the 16-year-old girl was an orphan who recently lost her mother and grandmother. In the interview with Madison, Rutherford stated that the girl’s biological mother and grandmother were alive.

The Daily News corrected the story but noted that the child is in foster care. The lawyer for the girl, however, refused to state whether this is true. When asked directly whether the girl is in foster care, the lawyer replied, “I can tell you that her mother and her grandmother are not dead and that I met with her at 5:30 in the morning with the mother and the child.”

Rutherford noted that several people have attempted to create fake crowdfunding pages, making it difficult for the family to set up an actual page to help cover legal costs. “We are trying to set up a GoFundMe page; it’s difficult because I think so many people are fraudulently trying to set them up, so GoFundMe has stopped it,” he said. “We are working with them trying to do that, and we should have that up and running today”…

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1 Comment

Tanya McNulty on November 1, 2015 at 9:14 AM

Keep doing what you are doing. I wish that somebody get envolved in work place issues.Blacks have a harf time being themselves while doing good work. A person with money and an attitude can get you fired. This is not cool.

Reply