H.S. student decries handling of assault

A Hauppauge teenager and her parents have faulted Smithtown school district officials for their handling of an assault the girl endured last month in a high school bathroom.

Gabrielle Petagna, 15, a sophomore at Smithtown High School West, and her parents, Jeanne and Michael, say school officials have refused to disclose the punishment given to eight students who participated in the assault.

Her parents also say school officials failed to call police or an ambulance following the Dec. 7 attack. But Fourth Precinct Lt. John Cahill said a school principal contacted police "immediately after the incident."

Petagna addressed a Smithtown school board meeting Tuesday night about the attack. She said an estranged friend punched her, causing her head to strike a wall. Other students blocked her escape, Petagna said. She said she suffered a concussion and a black eye -- and has nightmares about the attack.

Petagna said the punishment given to her assailants was apparently insufficient because they have since returned to schools. "I felt completely betrayed by my school," she said. "Why doesn't our school seem outraged?"

Many in the audience gave her a standing ovation.

Pressed by residents, Superintendent Edward Ehmann said he was at a "disadvantage" because he was barred by federal and state privacy laws from discussing details of the case and the students' punishment. He later told reporters that all students involved in the attack were punished, but he refused to disclose specifics.

In an interview Thursday, school board president Gladys Waldron said school officials "followed our procedures." Under district policy, decisions on calling police and ambulances are generally left to parents, she said.

Cahill defended the district's actions, saying, "Their handling of this incident couldn't have been better."

Waldron said she supported the punishment for the girl who punched Petagna. "She was given what I believe she deserved," she said.

Jeanne Petagna said school officials refused to tell her how the students were punished. Most of those involved have returned to school, she said. There was "very little disciplinary action. . . . What's to deter these kids to keep them from doing something like this to other students?"

She said she took Gabrielle to a hospital after the attack and then filed a police report.

Cahill said the 15-year-old girl who allegedly punched Gabrielle was charged as a juvenile with third-degree assault and unlawful imprisonment and was referred to Family Court. Two other girls, ages 16 and 17, were charged as adults with unlawful imprisonment for allegedly barring Gabrielle from leaving the bathroom.

Police would not identify the students who were charged because it was a school incident and is now a court matter.

The Suffolk County attorney's office, which handles Family Court cases, declined to comment because of the alleged assailant's age.