DELAND, Fla., Jan. 9 (UPI) -- A Florida mother is suing the Volusia County School Board and a middle school teacher for not intervening when her son was bullied.
Melissa J. of DeLand alleges her son was repeatedly bullied at Holly Hill Middle School while teacher Wayne Wheeler stood by and did nothing, Courthouse News reported.
"While attending Wheeler's class, and under Wheeler's supervision, [her son] was verbally assaulted, punched, kneed in the stomach, and finally stripped of his clothes and photographed by four older students," the mother said.
"Wheeler, after hearing [her son's] cries and the screams of other children witnessing the attack, interrupted his Internet session on his School Board computer to stand at the door of his office and observe the incident. Without saying a word or lifting a finger to intervene on [her son's] behalf or regain control of the classroom, Wheeler went back into his office and closed the door," she said.
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When that class ended, the mother said her son "somehow made his way to the next class where he rolled into a fetal position in the corner, crying uncontrollably."
Three weeks later, after a "limited" School Board investigation, Wheeler quit his job without being punished, the mother said.
The mother then transferred her son to Campbell Middle School, where he was bullied again.
"Within weeks" of his transfer, she says, her son "was again attacked, this time in the cafeteria by a student who had attacked a student earlier in the day, but was allowed to stay on campus rather than being suspended."
She says her son "has been diagnosed with post traumatic stress disorder, hospitalized multiple times, prescribed antidepressants and has been under almost constant mental, emotional and behavioral therapy."
The mother is seeking damages for negligence and vicarious liability.
It was not reported whether the Volusia County School Board or Wheeler had responded to the allegation.
