HARRISVILLE, N.Y. – A New York student is suing the Harrisville Central School District and several of its employees after a “frightening, degrading, and de-humanizing” body cavity search for drugs at school.
The lawsuit alleges Harrisville High School Principal Eric Luther sought out an unnamed female student on Dec. 11, 2015 and ordered her to “go for a walk” with him to his office, where two state police officers waited nearby. Once inside, she was confronted by Luther, Harrisville Elementary School Principal Amy Bird and Robert Finster, district superintendent, about allegations from classmates that she was carrying drugs, according to the 20-page complaint filed in U.S. District Court last week.
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The teen denied the accusations, demanded to know who accused her, and offered her backpack for a search.
Officials allegedly ignored her.
“Instead, … Luther stated ‘okay, I’m going to get you a spare change of clothes, and you’re going to change into them, because we’re going to search your clothes,’” according to the lawsuit, posted online by Courthouse News.
Luther and Finster left and Luther soon returned with clothes. Luther and Bird then escorted the teen across the hall to nurse Kelly Avallone’s office, leaving the student’s backpack in Luther’s office, according to the complaint.
Luther dropped off the extra clothes and left the student with Avallone and Bird, who told the student she was undergoing a “strip search” and ordered her to remove all her clothes.
“After the inspection of Jane’s clothes was complete, … Avallone looked at … Bird and asked her about a ‘rectal exam,’” the complaint reads. “Jane overheard … Bird and immediately said ‘no.’”
“Scared and disturbed by the mention of a rectal exam, Jane pleaded to … Avallone and Bird to let her urinate in a toilet to prove she was not concealing anything in her rectum.”
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Avallone left the room to fetch a flashlight and gloves, and Bird allegedly told the student if she “put anything up there” it would be a “serious problem.”
Avallone watched the student urinate into the toilet and things went normally, but the nurse still insisted on looking into her rectum and ordered her to “turn around,” the lawsuit alleges. The student “felt she had no choice but to comply” and Avallone pried her cheeks apart and peered inside using the flashlight, exposing no drugs, according to the complaint.
Still unsatisfied, Avallone ordered the teen to “turn around” again for a vaginal examination.
“Using her hand, … Avallone pried apart the opening to Jane’s vagina and shined her flashlight inside,” the lawsuit alleges.
“During the vaginal examination, … Avallone laughed at Jane and stated ‘this is a first for Harrisville.’”
When no drugs were discovered, the student was given back her clothes and told to get back to class. The girl retrieved her backpack from Luther’s office and noticed its contents had been rearranged, and Luther allegedly admitted to going through it while she was in the nurse’s office.
Luther allegedly told the student to “’stop having your name associated with people with drugs,’ or words to that effect” before sending her off on a bus to her next class.
The student “pleaded with … Luther to give her more information about who falsely accused her and what they said about her, but … Luther flatly refused to provide any information about the accusations against her,” the lawsuit alleges.
The 13 causes of action target Finster, Luther, Bird, Avallone, the school district and the school board with varying claims, including unreasonable search, false arrest, assault, battery, false imprisonment, reckless failure to train, intentional infliction of emotional distress, negligence, negligent infliction of emotional distress, and violations of the student’s equal protection rights.
All of the school employees involved in the alleged incident are still working for the district, according to the Harrisville Central School District website.
Attorneys Costello, Cooney & Fearon, PLLC, want a jury trial in the U.S. District Court Northern District of New York to determine compensatory and punitive damages.
“Because of the Defendants’ unlawful conduct, Jane was made to suffer personal injuries, pain and suffering, severe mental anguish, emotional distress, humiliation, degradation, injury to reputation, permanent loss of natural psychological development, and other related harms,” the complaint reads.


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