A teenager who was secretly filmed while masturbating was bullied to the point of committing suicide. According to the Los Angeles Times, Matthew Burdette, 14, was kicked out of his class at University City High School in San Diego, California, for eating sunflower seeds.
His teacher never gave him a specific destination so Burdette walked the halls of the school and eventually went into a restroom. He began masturbating and a fellow student secretly filmed him during the act.
Burdette’s classmate uploaded the video on SnapChat and Vine and the video went viral. Burdette was teased and bullied by classmates for nearly two weeks following the incident. Unable to deal with the embarrassment, Burdette killed himself during a Thanksgiving trip with his family. He left a note saying he couldn’t handle school because he didn’t have friends.
Burdette’s family didn’t know about the video until after their son’s death. But they believe teachers knew about the bullying and never attempted to stop it.
Burdette’s family plans to sue the San Diego Unified School District. The boy who filmed Burdette masturbating could face criminal charges under California’s anti-bullying law.
