HEALS

A distraught mother has filed a federal lawsuit after her teenage daughter was allegedly strip-searched in the hunt for a vape pen.

According to the suit, the young girl was taken to the nurse’s office of her Ohio middle school and told to remove all clothes except her underwear…

…this included her bra.

Humiliated and scared, the eighth grader was reportedly then inspected by a nurse’s aide and wasn’t given the opportunity to leave or refuse.

The family’s lawyer – Jared Klebanow – claimed the school went too far and that forcing the middle schooler to be ‘all but naked in front of a stranger’ was a violation of her civil rights.

He said: “People say time heals all wounds, but it is important to remember that, almost always, a scar is left behind.

“Subjecting a teenage girl to a strip search over an object which posed no threat of violence to students or staff was unreasonable.”

Klebanow added that children and teenagers ‘do not leave their constitutional rights at the door’ when at school, stressing that this was an ‘embarrassing’ ordeal’ for someone to go through.

According to the lawsuit, the teenager – who attends Eastlake Middle School – was in possession of a vape when a friend asked her to store one in her locker earlier that day.

Trying to fit in, she ‘begrudgingly agreed’, but was honest about the interaction and the location of the device when she was later confronted by the school’s principal.

The unnamed girl’s gym and hallway lockers were both searched, however, when the vape pen wasn’t found, more drastic measures were taken.

She was led to the nurse’s office by Principal Colleen Blaurock, who reportedly told untrained nurse’s aide Rosalyn Rubertino to conduct a body search.

And after she was given the all clear by the school’s nurse Megan Kuhlman – who wasn’t in the building - Rubertino told the young girl to strip down, allegedly ignoring her questions and concerns.

Once she’d conducted the initial search, the aide left the room to consult with the principal who was waiting outside the door.

But when the eighth grader asked if she could put her clothes back on, she was told ‘no’ and left standing alone and almost naked in the office.

Rubertino returned once again and shone a UV light in the girl’s eyes before finally telling her she could get dressed.

After all this, it was confirmed that the teen wasn’t in possession of a concealed vape…but she was still dealt a two-day suspension.

The family’s lawyer Klebanow highlighted that, while strip searches may be permissible where there could be a ‘severe threat of violence’, their use is not appropriate when looking for a vape.

He said: “Students and parents must be able to trust that public school districts and the adults working within those districts will do everything possible to protect the rights of our students.

“In this case, they failed.”

The ongoing lawsuit has been levied against principal Colleen Blaurock, nurse’s aide Rosalyn Rubertino, nurse Megan Kuhlman and the Willoughby Eastlake Schools Board of Education.

It claims there was a failure to train school staff, the intentional infliction of emotional distress and violations of the teen’s constitutional rights.

The alleged incident took place in September 2022 and the suit was filed in the following December. Defendants are yet to comment.

Unsurprisingly, news of the supposed strip search triggered a wave of outrage from critics.

People from within and outside the vape community came together in a melting pot of shock and disgust, taking to social media to share their fury.

Popular vape Youtuber Grimm Green was just one of many to raise their voices, even talking about the suit in a recent video.

He said the ‘ridiculous’ choice to strip search a child is symptomatic of the moral panic being pushed by groups like Parents Against Vaping and the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids.

The industry celebrity went onto suggest these anti-vaping organisations are ‘just as culpable’ as the defendants and said, ‘I guess this is the America they want’.

But he wasn’t the only one to share his horror…here’s what just a few other people had to say.

· “I literally have no words…the country is just getting worse by the minute.”

· “This is horrendous. I don’t care what the issue is, traumatising a child in that way should never happen. PERIOD. “I hope this child is ok, has access to a counsellor and is HEAVILY compensated for this.”

· “This is getting way out of hand!”

· “Strip searching a young female is not only despicable, but its effects will also be a lifelong trauma. Completely unacceptable.

“Thank you PAVE and CTFK; by instilling moral panic in the public school system you have traumatised a teen…the very demographic you claim to be protecting.”