An Italian family sued an elite Westchester County boarding school where their 17-year-old son killed himself, accusing officials of keeping the teenager in “solitary confinement” after he was expelled for cheating on an task.
Exchange student Claudio Mandia was found dead in a room at EF Academy in Thornwood in February, having hung himself on the eve of his 18th birthday.
The teenager had just been expelled for cheating on a math task, and was forced by school officials to remain in a room alone, based on the lawsuit filed in Westchester County Supreme Court on Friday by his father, Mauro Mandia, and one other representative of the boy’s estate.
The suit accuses school officials of contributing to Claudio’s death by putting him in solitary confinement while he was emotionally vulnerable, despite knowing that Claudio had been coping with personal issues that had impacted his school performance.
“It was painfully foreseeable that forcing [Claudio] into solitary confinement, malnourishing him, and inadequately supervising him after delivering the life-altering news that he could be expelled – all while he was enduring other hardships that EF Academy knew about and was treating him for – could end in his tragic death,” the lawsuit states.
The suit alleges wrongful death, negligence, false imprisonment and emotional distress, amongst other charges against EF Academy, 4 school officials, its parent company and 20 other unnamed defendants. Claudio’s family is demanding punishment for the college in addition to compensation.
A spokesperson for the college told NBC News in a press release that the filling contained “multiple inaccurate statements” and disputed the claim that Claudio was “placed in solitary confinement.”
“The narrative that’s shared within the legal filing isn’t accurate or based on fact,” the statement said. “We’re confident that the legal process will allow us to supply and prove a fact-based legal case recounting what actually transpired.”
Mandia and Elisabetta Benesatto enrolled their son at EF Academy — which has a whopping tuition of $66,500 per yr for college students who live full-time on campus — in the autumn of 2020 after he expressed interest in a global academic experience before attending a university in Italy, based on the suit. He was accepted to the college’s two-year International Baccalaureate Program.
In his first yr at the college, he received relatively good grades — including an “A” in math — and was noted by his teachers as “having an excellent humorousness,” “helpful” and “a excellent math student,” based on the suit.
In November 2020, one other Italian student who was expelled from the academy also attempted suicide, based on the suit, which notes Claudio was not involved in that incident.
The next yr, trouble began for the teenager. He was forced to remain at home in Battipaglia, Italy after the college’s winter break after several members of the family contracted COVID-19.
“This caused [Claudio] to fall behind in his academic work, and when [Claudio] did return to campus after being quarantined, he was under a variety of pressure to try to catch up,” the suit alleges.
“Then, lower than two weeks after his delayed return to campus, [Claudio] suffered the unexpected lack of an in depth member of the family, which upset him terribly and caused him to hunt counseling from EF Academy’s in-house social employee Chelsea Lovece,” the suit says.
While Claudio was looking for mental help, he was expelled for plagiarism and placed in solitary confinement on Feb. 14 until his parents arrived to select him up.
While he was locked up away from all other students and staff, his meals were delivered right to his room, where trash began to pile up, the suit alleges.
“[Claudio] screamed and cried for help while held in solitary confinement. EF Academy and the person Defendants callously ignored him,” the suit says.
The day before he was expected to depart the college, he encountered three staffers with visible marks on his neck that indicated a previous suicide attempt.
The next morning, Claudio’s younger sister, who was also a student at the college, then pleaded with Lovece to envision on her brother. Lovece told the girl that she had knocked on his door earlier that morning, and that she believed he was asleep when he didn’t answer.
When she checked on him again later that morning, he was found dead.
“EF Academy’s implementation of its solitary confinement protocol, combined with its grossly negligent – and indeed blatantly abusive – handling of [Claudio] known risk aspects, was truly outrageous and warrants the imposition of punitive damages to make sure such conduct doesn’t ever occur again.”
SUICIDE HOTLINE LANGUAGE: In case you are battling suicidal thoughts or are experiencing a mental health crisis and live in Recent York City, you’ll be able to call 1-888-NYC-WELL totally free and confidential crisis counseling. In case you live outside the five boroughs, you’ll be able to dial the 24/7 National Suicide Prevention hotline at 1-800-273-8255 or go to SuicidePreventionLifeline.org.