Two defendants named in a lawsuit filed by a Zelienople family on behalf of their son are challenging core claims made in the lawsuit, with one girl claiming the boy sexually assaulted her and another girl rejecting the suit's characterization of her involvement.

The suit, filed by the Flood family, of Zelienople, on behalf of their minor son, T.F., lists as defendants David and Christy Sherk as parents of minor K.S.; David and Christine Seaman as parents of C.S.; Cris and Kimberly Salancy as parents of minor E.S.; and David and Lynn Reina, both individually and as parents of H.R. The suit also names the Seneca Valley School District.

Both court filings were made in response to the amended lawsuit filed by the Floods in May, with one of the two families filing a counterclaim seeking damages against the plaintiffs.

The court documents were filed June 26 and 27 by attorneys representing the families of K.S. and E.S. In both filings, the families of the defendants deny that their children bullied T.F. Furthermore, the family of K.S. “deny each and every allegation” made against her.

The Flood's three-count complaint states K.S., C.S., E.S. and H.R. falsely accused T.F. of criminal conduct, including sexual assault.

In the counterclaim filed last week by David and Christy Sherk, the family accuses T.F. of sexually assaulting their daughter and denies that K.S. lied about the incidents or that she bullied T.F.

Read more in Monday's Butler Eagle.