GASTONIA, Ill., Dec. 6 (UPI) -- An elementary school in North Carolina suspended a 9-year-old boy for sexual harassment of a substitute teacher, the boy's mother says.
Chiquita Lockett told WCCB-TV, Charlotte, N.C., her son Emanyae was disciplined because he was overheard saying "she is fine" about the teacher at Brookside Elementary School in Gastonia.
"I'm very upset that a 9 year-old is being labeled as a sexual predator,:" Lockett said. "The accusations don't fit the description."
She said she was told her son had a history of verbal abuse for calling other students names, but she said she had never been told about it.
Emanyae said he does not understand what he did.
"I didn't think I did anything wrong, because all I did was call the teacher cute," the fourth-grader said.
Lockett said she might use the experience as a lesson to her son that it is important to be careful what words you use. But she said her son should not be afraid to open his mouth.
