Rhode Island Town Not Liable for $4.3M in Damages in Bullying Suit

A Rhode Island Superior Court judge has ruled that the town of Johnston does not have to pay $4.3 million in damages awarded to a girl who says she was bullied and beaten by a police detective’s daughter and two daughters of a town fire chief.

Mayor Joseph Polisena announced Wednesday that the judge ruled that the police were not responsible for the girl’s troubles and declined to impose $4.3 million in damages, plus interest, that the girl and her parents sought from the town.

The judge said the girls accused of assaulting the victim are liable for $220,000, plus interest, in damages.

The bullying incidents date to 2001 when the victim was 13, and the lawsuit was filed in 2005. The suit also claimed the girl was unjustifiably arrested and imprisoned.