Fivay High bully victim gets injunction against ex-boyfriend - WFLA-TV Newschannel 8

After a three day school break Pasco educators found themselves in the awkward position Tuesday morning of enforcing a domestic violence court order to keep two of their students from crossing paths at Fivay High School.

Jessica Johnson, 18, says her ex-boyfriend Colton Little, 18, has been harassing her for months with vulgar text messages urging her to kill herself and name calling too profane to write about in this story.

Little denies sending the messages and there is no hard evidence he is responsible. Pasco Sheriff's detectives who are investigating the harassment say they can't determine the source  because they go through text screening site called Pinger that hides the sender's identity.

In a 40 minute domestic violence hearing Friday Johnson represented herself, cross-examined witnesses, and held up under hostile questioning by her ex-boyfriends attorney. Johnson convinced Pasco Circuit Judge Kim Campbell to take the extraordinary step of ordering Little to keep his distance at school, at home and at the church she attends with the presumption he is behind the campaign to torment her.

"I'm beyond relief," Johnson said later. "I'm very glad the judge saw the truth and she is helping me protect myself." She also admitted to being a little nervous knowing she had to square off in court with the licensed attorney and former prosecutor representing Little.

Under questioning by his own attorney during the hearing Little testified he was afraid of Johnson and the victim of her aggression, not the other way around.

But the judge didn't buy his story and said Little prompted his friends with head nods and other signals during their testimony to help shape their stories.

Johnson testified it was hard for her to concentrate in school because she lives in fear. She told the judge that Fivay High School administrators had not been able to stop the harassment even after she made more than 30 complaints over the course of two months to the principal, teachers, counselors and the school resource officer.

Johnson cited dates and times when bully and harassment occurred and had all of the offensive text messages saved on her phone which the judge reviewed, including eleven from a single morning.

She also told the judge the school bully problem is much bigger than her.

"Your honor bullying in school is a huge problem and routinely goes unreported, " said Johnson. "I am being punished and retaliated against because I spoke up. I simply want Mr. Little and his friends to leave me alone."

Little and three of his friends who testified later said Johnson made up the allegations to get attention and it is them who want to be left alone.

A friend of Johnson testified she had personally witnessed violence against Johnson outside of school by Little and the ongoing harassment in and out of school by him and his friends. The friend said she was also a target of their bully behavior.

On the way out of the courthouse after the hearing, one of Little's friends who was angry about the judge's ruling threw a two handed middle finger gesture to a Newschannel Eight videographer. Later he bragged on his Facebook page about telling this reporter to "F*** off."

During his sworn testimony that same teenager smirked and laughed when asked whether anyone had ever harmed Johnson and said he had never witnessed name calling, harassment or any violence against her by his friend Colton Little or anyone else.

Judge Campbell later said she didn't believe that testimony and similar accounts by Little's other friends who testified. Campbell granted Johnson her wish for the injunction to keep Little away from her until she graduates from Fivay High School in June.

Pasco school administrators say they will do their best to enforce the court order while Pasco sheriff's detectives continue to search for the source of the trouble making as part of an ongoing criminal investigation.