Boy Beaten and Bullied at Charter School Over Ties to 50 Cent, Mom Says
The Rev. Kevin McCall with Myasia Dickerson, who is suing the Department of Education, after her son was allegedly assaulted in a stairwell at Williamsburg Charter High School in Brooklyn. (Jesse Ward/for New York Daily News)
(IBEXNews) – A Brooklyn teenager was beaten by a bully at his high school because of his ties to megastar 50 Cent — and the school did nothing to protect him from the abuse, according to a notice of claim filed against the city.
Once students at Williamsburg Charter High School realized that 14-year-old Davian Fraser was tight with the rapper at the beginning of the school year, some of them started to push him around, his mother told IBex News.
“It caused a big uproar in the school," Davian’s mom, Myasia Dickerson, said. "The kids started to follow my son around, tried to put him on Snapchat, tried to take videos of him. They were following him to the train station.”
Davian was on his lunch break on Dec. 16 when four classmates approached him near a stairwell and started pummeling him, she said.
“He was attacked from behind as he tried to walk away," Dickerson said. “He was punched in the head and then the student proceeded to fight him and then he slammed my son’s head onto the ground.”
A police report said a student followed Davian to his locker. Davian then went up to the fifth floor of the school building to look for a security officer, but found no one there.
The student following Davian hit him in the back of his head and slammed his head into the floor of the stairwell, police said. No arrests were made.
Davian received injures to his head and neck, and still suffers from emotional and psychological trauma, the notice of claim details.
Dickerson said she blames the school. She said her son sought refuge in a classroom moments before he was attacked, but that a teacher turned him away because class was in session.
“The teacher told him, `No, I have a class right now. You can’t stay in my classroom,'” Dickerson explained.
Dickerson also said that the principal told her the school let all the school safety officers go to lunch at the same time.
The claim — which seeks $5.5 million in damages — was filed against the Department of Education.
“Parents have the right to expect a safe environment when they send their child to school," said the family’s attorney, Sanford Rubenstein. “When school personnel fail to provide that, especially when they are on notice of a problem, the school is liable to that child for damages.”
Fifty Cent, whose real name is Curtis Jackson, met Davian in 2016 and shared a series of Instagram posts — which have since been deleted — about the boy.
“This is Davian doing his, I’m cooler then my dad look,” the rapper posted along with a photo, according to E News. The entertainer later clarified that the boy is not his child.
The rapper did not return requests for comment.
Dickerson said her son should be treated like any other kid, no matter who he knows.
“My son was hurt," Dickerson said. "And that’s the main thing here. I should not fear for my child’s safety. He’s 14.”
Dickerson said Davian hasn’t been in school since he was beaten.
"My son is broken," Dickerson said. "It's heartbreaking."
A department spokeswoman said the lawsuit will be reviewed.
“The alleged incident occurred at a charter school not a DOE district school," the spokeswoman said. “We will review any litigation papers that are filed.”
An anti-bullying rally will be held outside the Williamsburg school on Monday.