A Mississauga mother said her 13-year-old son is scarred for life after he was arrested at his middle school and brought to a police station in handcuffs over a video he posted to Facebook.
The Tomken Road Middle School student is alleged to have recorded a cellphone video of a scrap between two female classmates off school property on Dec. 17 and then posted it to his online profile.
The boy’s mother said her son was called to the school’s office on Dec. 19, where he was arrested by police, handcuffed and taken from the building to a police cruiser as other students looked on.
“How is an adult or an educator going to justify this situation — traumatizing a child and handcuffing him? Who’s the bigger bully?” the mother said.
The case comes during a year in which high-profile tragedies, including the suicide of 15-year-old Amanda Todd of Port Coquitlam, B.C., have pushed the issue of cyberbullying of school-age children to the forefront.
The boy, who can’t be identified under the Youth Criminal Justice Act, was charged with mischief.
His mother, who also can’t be named to protect the boy’s identity, said the principal and school trustee called to say her son would be suspended for a month and transferred to another school.
On Thursday, Peel Police said an underage female student, who also cannot be identified, was charged with assault on Dec. 19.
In the video, viewed by the Star, two girls can be seen arguing as a small group, including the filmmaker, approaches.
As the two trade insults, one girl walks away before the second girl grabs her by her lime green backpack, hurling her to the pavement. As the girl on the ground retaliates with a kick, the second girl grabs her by her ankle and drags her a short distance before nearly straddling her and unleashing a barrage of no less than eight punches to the face. As the punches connect, several people can be heard laughing.
Const. Erin Cooper said the boy’s mischief charges relate to interfering with the victim’s reasonable use and enjoyment of Facebook, as outlined in the Criminal Code.
Police could not confirm whether the boy was handcuffed during arrest.
The boy’s mother said she’s not condoning the fight or her son’s actions, but doesn’t understand why he is being singled out in a situation she said was unfairly escalated by administration and police.
“There were a lot of other boys in the video seeing, standing by,” she said.
She says educators missed an opportunity to instruct the group of young teens on why posting the video could be harmful and why it’s not acceptable to be a bystander.
“The children were not aware posting a video is a wrong thing because they think it’s a common practice,” she said.
Peel District School Board spokesperson Carla Pereira said a school community member brought the video to the administration’s attention.
After viewing the footage, the principal called police, she said.
Schools in Ontario follow provincial Ministry of Education guidelines for mandatory police reporting of physical assault causing bodily harm.
She said the board could not comment on an individual student’s case, but said transfers can be necessary when police release conditions dictate a student must be separated from other involved parties.
The boy’s mother said her son and a group of friends have been in trouble at school before for being a “little bit mischievous,” but nothing serious.
On Twitter, the boy has since posted in his own defence, saying he’s not a bad kid as his friends sent messages of support.
The mother said she intends to fight her son’s charges in court when he appears in January.