A principal resigned after he was accused of intimidating the family of a 13-year-old who killed herself after she was bullied in school
Fairfield Middle School Principal Lincoln Butts' resigned for "personal reasons," according to WCPO.
The announcement that he will step down as principal comes amid a lawsuit leveled against the school district, 11 other administrators, and more than a dozen students for their alleged roles in the suicide of Emilie Olsen.
Classmates frequently bullied Olsen, a seventh-grade student at Fairfield, according to a lawsuit filed on behalf of her parents, Marc and Cynthia Olsen. She shot and killed herself on December 11, 2014 as a result of the bullying, the suit claims.
Five days later, on December 16, Butts showed up at the Olsen's house unannounced. Along with two police officers, he attempted to silence the Olsens from talking about their daughter's death to the media, according to the suit.
Marc was told that he was "stirring the pot" and "causing an issue for the school and the community," the suit states.
Emilie, who was adopted by the Olsen's when she was nine months old, is described as a straight "A" student. Starting in the fifth grade, however, she became the victim of students who made fun of her Asian-American background and her perceived sexual orientation, the suit states.
Menacing messages like "go die Emilie," "Emilie is a whore," and "Go kill yourself Emilie," as well as references to her race, were written on the walls of the school's restroom, according to the suit.
In 2013, a fake Instagram account was created called "Emilie Olsen is Gay," and she was harassed over the platform.
Further, she became the victim of multiple physical assaults. In on such instance, another student slapped Emilie in the face in front of administrators, who took no disciplinary action against the student responsible, according to the suit.
On separate occassions when Marc and Cynthia attempted to discuss the bullying with administrators, their phone calls were either not returned or not taken seriously, according to the suit.
Fairfield City Schools have denied the allegations in the lawsuit, according to WCPO.
Business Insider's request for comment from Lincoln Butts was not immediately returned.