Zach Huston, the 15-year-old Ohio gay
teen whose beating was caught on video and posted on Facebook, says
school officials asked him to tone it down after the incident.
The video, captured by another student
with a cell phone, shows a teen waiting for his victim in a classroom
at Union-Scioto High School in Chillicothe, approximately an hour
south of Columbus. When Huston arrives, he is repeatedly beaten as
other students stand by and watch.
In an interview with WBNS,
Huston said school officials blamed him for the attack.
“He basically said, 'There's a few
gay kids in school and you're the only one they have problems with.
So, what can you do to tone yourself down?'” he said.
While officials say the bully was
reprimanded, they have refused to share any details.
The Ohio chapter of the American Civil
Liberties Union (ACLU) announced it was representing the teen and is
considering possible legal action against the district.
“The school district should have
protected [Huston] and they failed,” James Hardiman of the ACLU of
Ohio said. (The video is embedded in the right panel of this page.)