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Girl Rescinds Story About Bullies Cutting Dreadlocks at School

Amari Allen
NBC Washington

The incident had allegedly occurred at a school where Karen Pence works.

UPDATE: Amari Allen now says she fabricated a story about three boys cutting her dreadlocks at school Her family released an apology statement to NBC.

"To those young biys and their parents, we sincerely apologize for the pain and anxiety these allegations have caused. To the administrators and families of Immanuel Christian School, we are sorry for the damage this incident has done to trust within the school family and the undue scorn it has brought to the school. To the broader community, who rallied in such passionate support for our daughter, we apologize for betraying your trust. We understand there will be consequnces, and we're prepared to take responsibility for them. We know that it will take time to heal, ad we hop and pray that the boys, their families, the school and the broader community will be able to forgive us in time."

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Students at the Christian school where Second Lady Karen Pence teaches art were accused of holding down a black student and cut off her dreadlocks because they were "nappy."

Amari Allen, 12, told NBC Washington that three white boys held her down at Immanuel Christian School before cutting off some of her hair.

"They said my hair was nappy and I was ugly," Amari said.

Head of School Stephen Danish said he has asked local police to conduct an investigation and did not condone the incident.

"We take seriously the emotional and physical well-being of all our students, and have a zero-tolerance policy for any kind of bullying or abuse," he said.

Amari told the news she has been bullied by the boys since the start of the school year. She did not tell an adult what happened until her mother later that week was doing her hair and noticed portions were missing.

The child's grandparents originally believed Amari was targeted because she's black, but they did not connect the incident to the fact Pence works there.

Pence has come under fire for working at a school with discriminatory policies.

Immanuel Christian School requires staff in their employment contract to confirm they are born-again Christians who will live by a certain set of evangelical principles.

A bizarre job application available online includes a "statement of faith" and a commitment to "maintain a lifestyle based on biblical standards of moral conduct."

The form outlines "moral misconduct," which includes "heterosexual activity outside of marriage (e.g., premarital sex, cohabitation, extramarital sex), homosexual or lesbian sexual activity, polygamy, transgender identity, any other violation of the unique roles of male and female, sexual harassment, use or viewing of pornographic material or websites, and sexual abuse or improprieties toward minors as defined by Scripture and federal or state law."

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