A Virginia mother has filed a lawsuit against Appomattox County School Board and district staff, alleging they concealed her daughter’s gender identity issues, which led to a series of tragic events.
The mother, Michele Blair, believes that the high school intentionally hid information related to her daughter’s gender identity during a time of profound personal turmoil for the young student.
The lawsuit, lodged by the Child & Parental Rights Campaign, states that Appomattox County High School did not inform Blair of the real reasons behind her daughter’s bullying – issues directly connected to the child’s gender identity.
The suit further details that the school kept quiet about the severe bullying, both verbal and physical, faced by the student because of her gender identity discordance and usage of restrooms opposite to her birth sex.
In a candid interview with Fox News Digital, Blair expressed her anguish, stating, “As a mother, I felt sick to my stomach.”
According to the lawsuit, during this tumultuous period, Blair’s daughter, Sage, began to identify as a male and grappled with “depression, eating disorders, engaging in self-harm, and experiencing hallucinations.” She was diagnosed with “major depressive disorder” and had to be hospitalized for “intentional self-harm by sharp object.”
The school’s alleged failure to communicate crucial details to Blair, the lawsuit argues, deprived her of the fundamental parental right to guide and make decisions concerning her child’s education and mental health.
This concealment possibly contributed to Sage fleeing from home, a decision partly fueled by the stress of harassment and bullying at school. In a harrowing twist, Sage was subsequently kidnapped and became a victim of sex trafficking before the FBI intervened with a rescue.
Detailing the aftermath of the Sage’s flight from home, Blair disclosed to Fox News Digital, “I was being deceived, and it was just too late.”
Sage, traumatized, fell into the clutches of an adult male who assaulted her. She was then taken to Washington, D.C., and later Maryland, facing further assaults and drug-induced traumas.
The saga took another turn when, post-rescue, Blair encountered difficulties in regaining parental rights over her daughter. The lawsuit alleges that Maryland public defender Aneesa Khan, assigned to represent Blair’s daughter, took actions aimed at keeping Sage in Maryland and confirming her male identity.
The lawsuit further alleges Khan convinced Sage, who was completely traumatized, to falsely accuse Blair of abuse and neglect due to Blair’s initial non-support of her daughter’s gender identity. This accusation led to investigations by child protective services, which ultimately found no evidence to support the charges.
However, the consequences of these allegations were horrible. Blair temporarily lost custody of her daughter.
The lawsuit states that during this period, Sage was placed in a juvenile facility with adolescent males, where she faced sexual assault and was denied necessary medical and mental health care.
This culminated in the child running away, being taken by an adult male, and tragically subjected to further abuse in Texas before being rescued.
Sage’s tragic story was the driver for a Virginia bill that would have forced schools to notify parents their child identified and transitioned to a gender different form their biology.
“Sage’s Law” would also have prevented teachers from hiding the transition and would have stipulated that “misgendering” is not child abuse. State Democrats defeated the bill in Feb. 2023 with every single one of them voting against it.
Responding to the lawsuit’s accusations, the Maryland public defender’s office voiced support for Khan, asserting that she acted in line with her “legal, ethical, and professional obligations.”
The lawsuit labels Khan’s actions as “egregious,” emphasizing that Blair’s rights as a mother were unjustly interfered with. Due to the distressing events, Blair’s daughter has been diagnosed with Complex PTSD and will likely require therapy indefinitely.
The lawsuit seeks damages from the defendants for their alleged misconduct.
