The mother of Avonte Oquendo, a 14-year-old with autism who disappeared from his school and whose remains were found months later, has filed a lawsuit against the facility where he was last seen. File Photo
The mother of the missing teen with autism who went missing before his remains washed ashore in Queens earlier this year is putting the blame on his school, according to a recent lawsuit she filed against the city.
Avonte Oquendo, 14, disappeared in October after wandering out of Riverview School in Long Island City. The Rego Park teen’s remains washed ashore near the East River in College Point in January after months of intense searching and heartbreak throughout the city. The city Medical Examiner’s office was unable to determine a cause of death.
Now, his mother Vanessa Fontaine filed a multi-million dollar lawsuit May 30 against the city and nine school officials pinning them responsible for her son’s disappearance from PS 277, the Riverview School. She singled out school safety agent Bernadette Perez, Principal Susan McNulty and several others, accusing them of negligence. The lawsuit was filed in Queens Supreme Court.
David Perecman, the attorney representing Fontaine, said the family was seeking $25 million for the damages they have suffered.
Surveillance footage taken from school showed the autistic teenager wandering through the hallways on Oct. 4 before ultimately walking out of an unsupervised door. It was an incident that the school should have been prepared for, the boy’s mother contended.
His disappearance led to frenzy throughout the region with his picture plastered across street poles and bulletin boards citywide.
City Special Commissioner of Investigation Richard J. Condon released a report in April outlining the months-long investigation and its tragic outcome, illustrating that the boy’s mother had previously warned school officials of his tendency to wander. It outlined the moment when the 14-year-old disappeared, just as a teacher and paraprofessional at the school were moving his class from the fifth to the second floor of their Long Island City school.
The report showed Fontaine had spoken with Riverview teacher Julie Murray before the incident, writing in a note, “Please make sure you keep an eye out he likes to run. Need 1-1 supervisor will leave the building,” the report said.
Murray did not share that information with coworkers inside the classroom, nor did she notify the administration, Condon said.
“Someone has to pay for this mistake,” Fontaine said at a press conference after the report was released. “I did write down my concerns that my son was a runner and to please watch him.”
The report did not accuse anyone of any crime, but it did deliver an in-depth
look at the school’s security protocols. Condon said school administrators did not notice the teen had instead walked downstairs to the ground floor unsupervised before passing a security guard and walking out an unlocked door leading to the street. But the report also did not outline which employee was ultimately responsible for the unlocked door that could have prevented the teen’s disappearance.
A custodian who saw an unidentified person leaving via surveillance footage told investigators he thought it was actually one of the building’s architects, the Condon report said.
The city has yet to take any disciplinary action with school employees as investigations into the teen’s disappearance continued.
“As chancellor, I am determined that we learn every lesson we can from this terrible tragedy and do everything in our power to prevent incidents like this from ever occurring again,” City Schools Chancellor Carmen Fariña said in a statement when his body was found in January. “Let Avonte remind us how important it is that we continue to look out for one another.”
Riverview School did not respond to a request for comment.
By Phil Corso
