A 12-year-old black girl from Virginia has recanted an accusation that her white sixth grade classmates pinned her down and cut off her dreadlocks, her family said in a statement Monday. Stephen Danish, the head of Immanuel Christian School, also confirmed the allegations were false.
Following an investigation by the Fairfax County Police Department, Danish said Amari Allen, the student who accused three of her classmates of assault, acknowledged the accusations were not true.
“While we are relieved to hear the truth and bring the events of the past few days to a close, we also feel tremendous pain for the victims and the hurt on both sides of this conflict,” he said. “We recognize that we now enter what will be a long season of healing.”
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Allen’s family apologized to the boys and the school for “the pain and anxiety these allegations have caused.”
“To the administrators and families of Immanuel Christian School, we are sorry for the damage this incident has done to trust within the school family and the undue scorn it has brought to the school,” the family said. “We understand there will be consequences, and we’re prepared to take responsibility for them.”
They added, “To the broader community, who rallied in such passionate support for our daughter, we apologize for betraying your trust.”
Last week, Allen told CBS affiliate WUSA-TV that the boys called her dreadlocks “ugly” and “nappy” before cutting them off on the playground during recess. “They kept laughing and calling me names,” Allen told the station, tearing up. “They called me ‘ugly,’ said, ‘I shouldn’t have been born.’ They called me ‘an attention-seeker.'”
Her family pays nearly $12,000 a year for her to attend the private school.
