A 16-year-old San Diego cheerleader who was repeatedly bullied by her peers says the taunting continued even after she dropped out, ABC News reports.
Katie Uffens left Westview High School earlier this year and enrolled in a home-school charter program after she was told about the existence of a group called the “KKK” — short for the “Kill Katie Klub.”
Mother Giselle Uffens says, however, that there was no escaping the alleged bullies, who proceeded to harass Katie online via social media after she left Westview.
KGTV reports Ms. Uffens collected defamatory photos and comments the bullies made on Facebook and Twitter, and also recorded dozens of allegedly threatening phone calls made to their house, which she turned over to police.
Earlier this month, two teenage boys were arrested at Westview and questioned in connection with the incident. One of them, Nick Aguirre, told KGTV that while he admitted to playing a role in bullying Katie last year, he is actually the victim in this situation, having been taken out of school publicly in handcuffs.
Aguirre said the “Kill Katie Klub” was just a joke he made in passing to a friend, and that he had not talked to her since.
"Basically, what I said to one of my friends was 'Kill Katie Klub,'" Aguirre told KGTV. "It was a one-liner thing. We never had any intentions to hurt anybody."
He also denied having any involvement with the threatening phone calls, despite Giselle Uffens’ claims to the contrary.
"They were like, 'You were making harassing phone calls, and I was like, 'No I wasn't,'" Aguirre told the station. "No matter how many times I told her, I swore on the Holy Bible, everything I did ... she was convinced."
According to KGTV, no charges have been formally filed. Once the police report is finished, the case will be turned over to the juvenile district attorney, who will determine whether to file criminal charges.
KNSD reports that Giselle Uffens went to the school and the parents of the suspected “Kill Katie Klub” ringleaders after the bullying first came to light in February. According to the Poway Unified associate superintendent, Westview administrators conducted a thorough investigation, but found no grounds to act.
According to KNSD, Ms. Uffens said the gravity of the situation was fully realized in July, following the Colorado movie theatre massacre. The suspected shooter, James Holmes, is a graduate of Westview High School.
“So when I realized that James [Holmes] lived down the street and I thought, well no better place to raise him here in this community, everybody dismisses everything as drama, nobody cares,” Uffens told the station.
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