SCHS Principal Layfield fired, plans to fight dismissal

SUSSEX COUNTY, Del. – Sussex Central High School Principal Bradley Layfield is out of a job as of Saturday.

This comes after former student Aniya Harmon filed a lawsuit against Layfield and Assistant Principal Matt Jones. The lawsuit stems from an incident where Harmons’ breasts were exposed during a school fight. The lawsuit alleges Layfield and Jones circulated the video amongst staff as a meme.

Layfield’s lawyer, Thomas Neuberger says they will be pursuing a hearing to defend Layfield’s rights. They disagree with the firing and say Layfield did not circulate the video. He also said forensic analysis proves that you can’t see anything inappropriate in the video.

Now he says they are going to fight his firing because there are a series of other issues with the case that they do not agree with. “Violation of progressive discipline is a violation of his contract rights. Maybe he’s being made to suffer because of who his brother is, that’s a violation of the First Amendment and to have people with a conflict of interest judging his livelihood is a violation of due process,” said Thomas Neuberger.

Once the report is available, it’ll be sent to the school board.

Harmon’s attorney issued a statement saying:

“Aniya Harmon and her family are pleased by the school board’s decision to terminate the employment of the individuals responsible for sharing video of her exposed breast at Sussex Central High School.

What happened to Ms. Harmon is outrageous and we will ensure that those responsible for violating her privacy are held accountable. It is reprehensible to think that those we entrust to protect our students would share something so intimate, particularly in a joking manner.

Ms. Harmon and her family would like to see criminal charges for those responsible as a way to deter this from happening to another student at Sussex Central High School, any school in Delaware or around the country.”

Layfield’s lawyer says if the decision to fire him is upheld, they will pursue action in federal court which could take years.

47ABC reached out to the school district. They have no additional comment, other than the one made on Thursday:

“Given that Wednesday evening’s board actions concerned personnel matters, we must refrain from comment in respect of our employees’ privacy rights. The personnel agenda from the executive session described the capacity in which, and building where, the employees are assigned. Any action taken is protected from disclosure. If further information can be provided in the future, we will do so,” said Superintendent Dr. Jay Owens.