A 15-year-old girl, who committed
suicide after allegedly being sexually assaulted by boys she knew,
marched in President Obama's first inaugural parade, her family has
revealed.
Audrie Pott was just eleven in 2008 when she was in the color guard with Redwood Middle School as part of the historic day.
Four years later, she tragically took her own life after students shared photos of her being sexually assaulted during a party on cell phones and online.
Miss Pott, from California, posted on Facebook that her life was ‘ruined’ and that she was going through her 'worst day ever' shortly before she committed suicide in September 2012.
The teen's family have set up a foundation in her name where they posted their memories about the kind and clever young woman.
In a page 'About Audrie', it reads: 'She was in the color guard in middle school and was part of the only middle school to perform at the inauguration of Barack Obama.
'The temperature was in the teens that day and the kids were not allowed to wear jackets or gloves, they carried on faultlessly and the President’s young daughters waved and cheered loudest for their group as all the other performers were so much older.'
Miss Pott's death came four months before Obama's second inaugural parade in January 2013.
The President's second presidential celebration was also tinged with tragedy after a teenage girl from Chicago was shot a week after she took part with her high school majorettes.
Hadiya Pendleton, a talented 15-year-old, was shot in the back on January 29 on Chicago's South Side after she was mistakenly thought to have been associated with a gang.
Last week, three 16-year-old boys linked to the alleged attack on Miss Pott were arrested in Northern California on sexual battery charges.
The family's lawyer Robert Allard said that he plans to seek homicide charges against the three suspected attackers.
'They did unimaginable things to her while she was unconscious,' Allard told NBC Bay Area.
In the days after the incident, the popular teen wrote on her Facebook page: 'The whole school knows... My life is ruined.'
Then
on September 12, 2012, just over a week after the alleged incident,
Pott, a gifted artist and musician who attended Saratoga High School,
took her own life after learning that her attackers took published
photos of her assault online and distributed them to her classmates.
The girl's parents, who did not find out about the alleged sexual abuse until after Audrie's suicide, want the suspected teenage attackers prosecuted as adults.
'What these boys did is beyond unconscionable,' Allard said. 'They should be held to the highest standard of the law to make sure this never ever happens again.'
According to the attorney, Audrie Pott was attending a Labor Day house party at a friend's house while the parents were away for the weekend in September 2012, Patch Gilroy reported.
About 10 or 15 high school students attended the gathering, where hard liquor mixed with Gatorade was being served to the guests.
Allard said that Audrie got drunk and ended up unconscious in a bedroom, where at least three male teens performed various sexual acts on her. When she woke up later, she suspected that something 'bad had happened'.
She soon found an abundance of material online about that night, including a picture which was spread around via email and text before it was finally posted on Facebook.
‘We are talking about a systematic distributing of a photo involving an intimate body part of hers,’ Allard said. He said distributing the photo was ‘equally insidious as the assault.’
She also discovered that her attackers were three boys she considered friends – young men in whom she had confided, the lawyer said.
Speaking to Yahoo!, the lawyer said that the sexual assault coupled with cyber-bullying ultimately led Audrie Pott to end her life because she could not bear the humiliation.
'It's the ultimate betrayal,' he said. 'The whole school knew. It's the worst way imaginable to be violated. That's something to be reserved for your husband. It's savage. It's just savage.'
The trio of 16-year-olds are being held at Juvenile Hall until a detention hearing, which is expected to take place this week.
Officials with the sheriff's office say investigators are still in the process of writing search warrants, and the probe is ongoing.
Audrie Pott was just eleven in 2008 when she was in the color guard with Redwood Middle School as part of the historic day.
Four years later, she tragically took her own life after students shared photos of her being sexually assaulted during a party on cell phones and online.
Miss Pott, from California, posted on Facebook that her life was ‘ruined’ and that she was going through her 'worst day ever' shortly before she committed suicide in September 2012.
The teen's family have set up a foundation in her name where they posted their memories about the kind and clever young woman.
In a page 'About Audrie', it reads: 'She was in the color guard in middle school and was part of the only middle school to perform at the inauguration of Barack Obama.
'The temperature was in the teens that day and the kids were not allowed to wear jackets or gloves, they carried on faultlessly and the President’s young daughters waved and cheered loudest for their group as all the other performers were so much older.'
Miss Pott's death came four months before Obama's second inaugural parade in January 2013.
The President's second presidential celebration was also tinged with tragedy after a teenage girl from Chicago was shot a week after she took part with her high school majorettes.
Hadiya Pendleton, a talented 15-year-old, was shot in the back on January 29 on Chicago's South Side after she was mistakenly thought to have been associated with a gang.
Last week, three 16-year-old boys linked to the alleged attack on Miss Pott were arrested in Northern California on sexual battery charges.
The family's lawyer Robert Allard said that he plans to seek homicide charges against the three suspected attackers.
Santa Clara County Sheriff's spokesman
Lt. Jose Cardoza said two of the suspects were arrested at Saratoga High
School and a third at Christopher High School in Gilroy.
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Honor: Audrie Pott was in the marching band of the only middle school to feature in Obama's first inaugural parade in 2008
It was also revealed last week that Pott’s family members believe
the attackers tried to destroy evidence in the case. That claim was posted on a
Facebook page for a foundation set up in the girl's name.
It didn't provide further details on what type of evidence
might have been targeted by the suspects. However, it asked any students with
information to come forward.
Sheriff Smith
confirmed to NBC Bay Area that her department does in fact believe it
is missing a 'critical electronic device' possibly containing pictures
of the assault that has not been turned over.
Lawyers representing the three underage suspects released a statement
following Thursday’s arrests claiming that Audrie's suicide had nothing to do
with their clients.
Tragic: Hadiya Pendleton, 15, was killed by a
gunshot in a park just one week after she returned to Chicago from
Washington following a performance at President Obama's second
inauguration
'Much of what has been reported over the last several days
is inaccurate. Most disturbing is the attempt to link Audrey’s suicide to the
specific actions of these three boys,' read the statement signed by lawyers Eric. S.
Geffon, Alan M. Lagod, Benajmin W. Williams.
Also on Friday, Sheriff Laurie Smith
offered an explanation to NBC Bay Area as to why it took officials eight months to make arrests in
Pott's case.
Smith said that although detectives knew the identities of
the suspected attackers, they had to conduct 'dozens' on
interviews and reviews 'electronic evidence' to build a solid case.
Pott’s family attorney said Audrie found herself unconscious in a room with several boys in the first week of September 2012. 'They did unimaginable things to her while she was unconscious,' Allard told NBC Bay Area.
In the days after the incident, the popular teen wrote on her Facebook page: 'The whole school knows... My life is ruined.'
Signs of trouble: In the days after the
incident, the popular teen wrote on her Facebook page: 'The whole school
knows...My life is ruined'
The girl's parents, who did not find out about the alleged sexual abuse until after Audrie's suicide, want the suspected teenage attackers prosecuted as adults.
'What these boys did is beyond unconscionable,' Allard said. 'They should be held to the highest standard of the law to make sure this never ever happens again.'
According to the attorney, Audrie Pott was attending a Labor Day house party at a friend's house while the parents were away for the weekend in September 2012, Patch Gilroy reported.
About 10 or 15 high school students attended the gathering, where hard liquor mixed with Gatorade was being served to the guests.
Allard said that Audrie got drunk and ended up unconscious in a bedroom, where at least three male teens performed various sexual acts on her. When she woke up later, she suspected that something 'bad had happened'.
She soon found an abundance of material online about that night, including a picture which was spread around via email and text before it was finally posted on Facebook.
‘We are talking about a systematic distributing of a photo involving an intimate body part of hers,’ Allard said. He said distributing the photo was ‘equally insidious as the assault.’
She also discovered that her attackers were three boys she considered friends – young men in whom she had confided, the lawyer said.
Speaking to Yahoo!, the lawyer said that the sexual assault coupled with cyber-bullying ultimately led Audrie Pott to end her life because she could not bear the humiliation.
'It's the ultimate betrayal,' he said. 'The whole school knew. It's the worst way imaginable to be violated. That's something to be reserved for your husband. It's savage. It's just savage.'
The trio of 16-year-olds are being held at Juvenile Hall until a detention hearing, which is expected to take place this week.
Officials with the sheriff's office say investigators are still in the process of writing search warrants, and the probe is ongoing.