A former Syracuse High student alleges she lost her senior year after classmates shared nude images of her online.
Jane Doe 1, one of two plaintiffs in an 85-page federal lawsuit filed Oct. 22, says her grades fell, she finished coursework online and the University of Utah rejected her. She had hoped to join the dance team. The suit accuses Davis School District, Superintendent Dan Linford, former Syracuse High Principal Jed Johansen and other administrators of failing to respond to repeated harassment complaints.
According to the Davis Journal, the lawsuit alleges a group of male students operated a private Snapchat group called "Demon Time" where they collected and circulated intimate nude images of female classmates. The boys also ran a public Instagram account called "Syracuse Barstool" that posted what the suit describes as "sexually degrading, threatening and dehumanizing content targeting female students by name."
Fox 13 reported that attorney Alexander Chang, who represents the two plaintiffs, said the alleged harassment began in 2023. Chang said at an Oct. 23 press conference that administrators took no meaningful disciplinary action.
"No one was suspended. No one was expelled, no one was even moved out of the classes that they had shared with the girls who were harassed," Chang said, according to Fox 13.
The boys were told to delete the Instagram account, Chang said. They made a new one the next day.
The lawsuit alleges that around February 2024, an investigation confirmed "actionable items" corroborating the "Demon Time" group and the sharing of intimate images, Fox 13 reported. Yet the plaintiffs allege no students faced discipline.
Jane Doe 1 alleges she was excluded during her senior year and had to finish coursework online because the school failed to protect her from harassment, according to the Davis Journal. The suit says she has been in and out of therapy.
Jane Doe 2 estimates she reported the boys roughly 30 times throughout her senior year, The Salt Lake Tribune reported. The Tribune obtained a copy of her student file, with her permission, that documents repeated reports.
The lawsuit also alleges Johansen told Jane Doe 1 and her parents they shouldn't "ruin these boys' lives" and potentially harm their chances to serve religious missions for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the Tribune reported.
Davis School District issued a written statement rejecting the allegations. The district said it "strongly and unequivocally rejects the allegations against district staff and employees and the characterization of their conduct." The statement added that the district would respond through the legal process and that student privacy requirements limit what it can publicly disclose.
The suit names the district, Linford, Johansen, former administrative intern Evette Ashton and Chadli Bodily as defendants, along with several former students. It seeks damages for economic losses and emotional distress, a declaratory judgment that the district violated Title IX (the federal law prohibiting sex-based discrimination in schools) and the 14th Amendment, and an injunction requiring new training and policies, KSL reported.
Chang told Fox 13 he hopes the lawsuit can be resolved within the next year or two.
