Aniya Harmon said it was bad enough when she learned that an image of her exposed breast had been made into a meme and shared in May with employees at Sussex Central High School in Delaware, where she was a student. But what made it worse, she and her mother, Tosha White, said in interviews, was who they believed to be responsible: two principals at the school.
Harmon and White said Bradley Layfield and Matthew Jones, the principal and assistant principal, used security camera footage from the school to create a meme that replaced Harmon’s face with that of Janet Jackson, in reference to an incident when the singer’s breast was exposed by Justin Timberlake during the 2004 Super Bowl halftime show. Those allegations also are made in a lawsuit filed in Delaware Superior Court in New Castle County.
“I’m still upset, I’m hurt, disappointed,” said Harmon, who graduated from the school this year and is in college.
Harmon sued the principals this month alleging invasion of privacy by intrusion and publication of private matters. The lawsuit also names Sussex Central High School and Indian River School District as defendants.
A representative for the school declined to comment Wednesday, referring NBC News to the school district, which said it “does not comment on pending litigation.” David Maull, a spokesperson for Indian River School District, also declined to comment on the status of the mens’ employment, saying “it’s a personnel issue.”
Layfield’s attorney, Thomas S. Neuberger, denied any wrongdoing by his client, who was head principal. He said Layfield was placed on leave on May 22. Jones did not immediately return requests for comment.
According to Harmon and the lawsuit, at about 7:30 a.m. May 17, she was walking to class when she encountered two students, a boy and a girl, arguing. Harmon said she told the girl, who was screaming, to be quiet, at which point the girl “screamed obscenities” at her and “bucked at her threateningly.” A woman who works at the school stepped in and pulled Harmon “forcefully,” causing her clothes to come apart, exposing her breast, the lawsuit claims. Neuberger says her breast became exposed while she was involved in a fight, which Harmon disputes.
The suit alleges Jones had worked with Layfield and “possibly others” to create the meme and that Jones showed it to other vice principals, administrators, teachers and others on his school-issued laptop. At least six people had access to images of Harmon’s breast, the suit states.
White said that a few days after the incident, she started hearing from people in the community that the meme existed.
“I didn’t have any proof that it was my daughter, but all of the facts started to add up,” White said.
She said she didn’t receive confirmation until eight days after the incident, when the assistant superintendent called her to schedule a meeting. By this point, White and her attorney said, both men had been placed on administrative leave. The assistant superintendent made no mention of the video or the meme, White said, until she asked whether the meeting was in reference to both. White never met with the assistant superintendent and instead hired an attorney. (The school district spokesperson declined to comment on White’s timeline of events.)
“I was in shock. I just couldn’t process it right away,” White said. “And then, after the shock came down, it was more anger, hurt, disbelief. So many emotions.”
She added: “And still to this day. I still have all of the emotions.”
Without naming Harmon, Layfield and Jones specifically, India Sturgis, a spokesperson for the Delaware State Police, said the agency is “investigating any potential crime related to an incident that occurred at Sussex Central High School in collaboration with the Delaware Department of Justice,” which did not immediately return a request for comment.
“Unfortunately, we cannot provide an estimated timeline for the investigation, as investigations can often be unpredictable, and it’s not uncommon for unexpected developments to arise,” Sturgis said, adding that the state police could not share any further information.
Emeka Igwe, an attorney for Harmon, said what happened to her is reprehensible and that the purpose of the lawsuit is to hold the administrators responsible.
“No person of authority should ever do that to a student and we want to make sure that they never work in any school setting again,” Igwe said. “Once the investigation is concluded, we hope that it will result in criminal charges being brought against these two individuals.”
Neuberger said Layfield was not involved in creating or circulating the meme, and that Layfield showed the security video to nine people, including state troopers and some staffers, such as administrators and teachers, with the intent “to keep children safe.” He said his client was following procedure when he did so.
“If the video is ever released,” he said, “one does not even notice the disrobing from the long distance.”
Neuberger placed the blame for the meme on Jones, whom he said created and shared it.
Neuberger said the Delaware State Board of Education has informed Layfield that it is investigating him and that it’s possible his teaching license is revoked. The board did not immediately return a request for comment.
“My client is innocent and he’s being used for monetary purposes,” Neuberger said.
The lawsuit seeks unspecified punitive damages, as well as attorney’s fees.
White said it’s been difficult to witness her daughter become subdued since the image was disseminated.
“Her school and her work are definitely her outlets to keep her mind off of what is going on,” White said. “It’s been hard on all of us.”
