Parents in southern Indiana are suing the Jennings County School Corporation, accusing the district of failing to protect their 11-year-old daughter, Brooklyn Cook, before she died by suicide on Feb. 17, 2025. In a wrongful-death lawsuit, the family alleges that months of bullying, which they describe as severe, pervasive and sexual in nature, went unaddressed and left Brooklyn without meaningful protection. The complaint seeks damages and what the family describes as accountability from school officials and staff they claim did not stop the abuse.
According to court documents obtained by WTHR, the complaint says Brooklyn endured repeated taunts and inappropriate sexual touching by male classmates, and that some classmates told her to kill herself. The filings outline a TikTok post from Nov. 7, 2024, in which Brooklyn wrote that she "didn't want to be sexually assaulted at school anymore." A teacher's assistant and a friend reported that post and related text messages to school counselors and teachers, according to the lawsuit. The suit also states that shortly before her death, Brooklyn told a teacher she was going to kill herself and that a teacher had recently reprimanded her for arriving a few minutes late to class.
District policy and reporting
The Jennings County School Corporation website features a dedicated "Report Bullying" resource, along with administrative office information and a school directory for its North Vernon campuses. District materials outline how to contact counselors and describe procedures for reporting student incidents. Attorneys for the Cook family say those channels were used, but that they did not stop the harassment described in the complaint.
Timeline spelled out in the complaint
The court filing reviewed by WTHR alleges that the bullying started during the 2023-24 school year, when Brooklyn was in fourth grade. Administrators briefly removed two boys from her class, according to the documents, but the lawsuit claims the behavior resumed and escalated during the 2024-25 school year, when she was in fifth grade. The filing alleges that the abusive conduct included inappropriate sexual touching and repeated messages encouraging self-harm, and that any interventions were either ineffective or not pursued. The family says in the complaint that it asked the district to investigate and discipline students, but that those requests were not met.
Legal angle
The lawsuit brings a wrongful-death claim and argues that the district failed to take steps required under federal civil-rights law. Under Title IX and federal guidance, schools that have actual knowledge of sexual harassment must take prompt and effective action to stop the harassment and prevent it from happening again, according to the U.S. Department of Education. If a court concludes that Jennings County School Corporation did not meet those duties, the case could involve both state negligence claims and federal civil-rights issues.
Resources and what is next
The case is pending in Jennings County court and is expected to move through pretrial procedures in the coming months. The family says it hopes the lawsuit will drive changes in how the district responds to student harassment. The district has said it strongly denies the allegations and will not comment further on the pending legal matter. For anyone in crisis, the 988 Lifeline provides free, confidential support 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
