Girl Hangs Herself After Being Bullied

May 10, 2012

A 13-year-old girl named Rachel Ehmke from Mantorville, Minnesota killed herself on April 29th following months of abuse at the hands of her classmates.

According to the Huffington Post, Rachel’s tormentors were a group of female students who attended Kasson-Mantorville Middle School.

Rachel’s family and friends say the teen fell victim to school bullying last fall when her chewing gum was stuck to her textbooks and the word “slut” was scrawled across her gym locker, the Austin Daily Herald reports. And while she was outgoing, athletic and friendly, the same group of girls reportedly threatened Rachel and kept calling her a “prostitute,” though she had never kissed a boy.

Two days before Rachel’s death, a text message was sent out students calling Rachel a slut and asking the reader to forward the text to “everyone you know” in order to get her to leave the school. Authorities claim the text was initially sent by someone who wasn’t even a student at the middle school, which makes it that much more confusing.

Rachel’s family say they don’t plan to press charges against the bullies that pushed their daughter to her breaking point.

“They’re kids. They made some horrible decisions. If these kids would’ve known this would happen I’m pretty sure they never, ever would have done what they did,” said Rachel’s father Rick Ehmke during an interview with Minnesota Public Radio. “Sadly enough, even those kids that know who they are will carry this bag their whole life. That’s a sad thing too, it really is.”

It’s true that kids are kids, which means they may not fully understand the consequences of their actions. But that doesn’t mean they shouldn’t be held responsible, in some way, for their actions. Something should be done. These kids should be required to take some anti-bullying courses or to speak out to others about what they did and the harm they caused. This type of behavior should not be allowed to go on.

Not only should the bullies be held responsible, but school officials and the parents of these bullies should as well. Rachel’s parents, Rick and Mary Ehmke, informed school officials of the bullying their daughter endured, but nothing was done to prevent it from happing over and over again.

Everyone here dropped the ball and a young girls life ended before it ever began.

So tragic. So sad. So preventable.

Our thoughts and prayers go out to the Ehmke family during this incredibly sad time.