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Bullied Girl May Get A Marked Record For Fighting Back

By Liz Collin, WCCO-TV

PRINCETON, Minn. (WCCO) –- A 12-year-old Princeton Middle School student was black and blue with bruises a few months ago after she took matters into her own hands and fought back against her bully in the school's bathroom.

The girl said the school didn't listen to her complaints and that's why she fought back. However, the girl's trouble didn't end there. Her family said the school's response to the fight could leave a mark on her record.

For months, the girl's mother, Vicky Dietz, has been surrounded by piles of legal paperwork.

"She had a bruise the size of a baseball on her back," Dietz said as she pointed to pictures of her daughter's bruises.

The marks all stem from scratches, kicks, punches, and hair pulling between Dietz 's daughter and another girl in her class.

The fight happened in the fall. However, Dietz said that the bullying started last school year.

"When they wouldn't help her she had to bring it upon herself to solve the problem and make it go away," Dietz said.

Records show her daughter reported the bullying, which was done by a girl who made fun of her clothes and her friends.

Months after the fight, however, both girls were charged with disorderly conduct.

The superintendent of Princeton Schools didn't want to talk on camera, but told WCCO-TV the entire district works very hard to prevent bullying. If it's reported to school officials, it's dealt with, the superintendent said.

Dietz doesn't believe that happened in her daughter's case.

Dietz said the school principal told her that police didn't ask for her daughter's records, and that's why police didn't know about the past.

WCCO-TV called police, but the calls were not returned.

In the end, it's likely Dietz's seventh-grade daughter will be left with a record.

The other girl's parents told WCCO-TV they have no problem with the charges. They said their daughter had to learn a lesson somehow.

Both girls go to court next week.

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