TOMS RIVER, N.J., Oct. 21 (UPI) -- A New Jersey woman and her mother are facing charges for confronting two boys who allegedly bullied her 9-year-old daughter, police say.
Rebecca Sardoni, 28, of Toms River is accused of boarding a school bus Friday and yelling at and slapping the two boys, the Asbury Park Press reported. Her mother, Stephanie Sardoni, 51, of Beachwood, also allegedly yelled at the boys, the newspaper said.
The mother-grandmother duo Saturday denied hitting or touching anyone on the bus.
"They [the boys] weren't the ones who were suffering; my daughter was," Rebecca Sardoni told the Press, adding that three boys and a girl at East Dover Elementary School have been harassing her fourth-grade daughter recently.
Sardoni said she alerted school administrators, but that nothing was done.
"These things are serious and supposed to be taken care of right away," she said.
She said the bus driver allowed her to go to the back of the bus to speak to one boy, who she said she told, "How dare you. Expect to be going to court."
But Toms River Police Chief Michael G. Mastronardy said Sardoni went further, alleging she cursed at the boy and slapped him and another boy next to him.
Sardoni was charged with simple assault, criminal trespass and making terroristic threats. Her mother was charged with criminal trespass, Mastronardy said.
The chief said police were looking into the bullying allegations.
The boys were treated by nurses from Toms River Regional Schools for cuts to their mouths, the newspaper said. One boy was later taken to a hospital by his parents for treatment of a neck injury, the police chief said.
Rebecca Sardoni said her daughter would no longer ride the bus to school and she intended to transfer her to another school.
"They're making us look like bad people and we're not. This little girl has been through a lot," she said.
