WACO, Texas — During the second day of trial for the case of a 12-year-old girl who returned from a 2016 Live Oak Classical school camping trip with rope burns around her neck, a Blanco Co. detective and a former teacher who was on the trip took the stand.
The now 14-year-old's mother is suing the school for $3M because she alleges the school did not do enough to stop the bullying of her child.
The victim's attorney, Levi McCathern, said he believes the incident was racially motivated, but on video the victim said none of the kids ever used a racist slur against her.
Blanco County detective:
The detective said he was the official who took the report when the incident happened and there was no evidence suggesting the wounds were intentionally inflicted or racially motivated.
However, the credibility of the investigation and the detective was brought into question during the trial.
In a video the man is shown saying he did not thoroughly investigate the case until after the media was involved. He later said the media did not play a role in his investigation, but he knew he would be scrutinized.
The McCathern also played a clip in which the detective tells the school how to get off the hook situation, explaining how the school would need a history of bullying to face criminal charges.
The attorney also accused the detective of asking the boys leading questions during the interview like, "You never saw her with a rope around her neck did you?"
The detective also admitted on the stand he had been fired from two previous sheriff positions in Roanoke and Sunrise Beach for poor performance.
Over 20 kids were interviewed about the case, according to the detective. He said he had never worked a case with so many kids with different views of what happened.
One story was the victim had fallen from a rope swing that tied around her neck.
A Waco Police crime scene technician wrote in a report the swing could have wrapped around twice, but the detective said he couldn't see how that was possible when he went out to test the swing.
The detective added the crime scene technician may not have been qualified to make that call.
Former Live Oak Classical teacher:
During her testimony, the former teacher said she didn't agree with McCathern's use of the word "bullying" and doesn't think it's a good way to characterize the boys accused of causing the burns.
When she saw the rope burn, the teacher said she had a parent on the trip who was a doctor to look at the injury. The doctor recommended putting medication on the burn.
The doctor later said the girl's claims are "garbage and gold digging."
The former teacher said she checked on the student before bed and the girl did not seem to be in distress.
The trial will resume Monday.
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