MAMS bullying victim's age prevents records release

While police officials have confirmed there was an investigation related to an alleged bullying incident involving Mount Airy school students, they said this week details of the complaint cannot be released.

The allegations were made public earlier this month when an area mother filed suit against the school district claiming her son had been on the receiving end of a pattern of bullying and abuse that culminated in an attack of both a physical and sexual nature on a field trip in Greensboro.

According to reports, the incident was reported to the Greensboro Police Department for investigation and was assigned a case number. However, due to the fact that both the victim and alleged assailant(s) are minors, Greensboro officials denied a request for a copy of the police report, stating because the incident involved minors, the report is not public record and cannot be released.

According to the lawsuit, filed in federal court, the Mount Airy Middle School sixth grader was on a field trip to compete in a HOSA — Future Health Professionals competition in Greensboro. The family’s legal team, Chance Lynch and Mario Pacella, said the trip “should have been a dream come true.”

“Instead, it was a nightmare as his fellow students not only bullied and harassed him, but beat with a belt, drug him across the floor, threw him into a shower with the water on and attempted to penetrate his rectum with an electric toothbrush,” the lawyers’ statement said.

The complaint goes on to say that officials did nothing to stop the alleged abuse, “In fact, one chaperone actually saw the victim being dragged to the bathroom but did not intervene.”

At the heart of the complaint is the mother’s assertion that the victim was assaulted at least twice leading up to the annual competition, but safety concerns raised by his mother were dismissed by school officials.

She in fact called the school, and the teacher overseeing the field trip, to express her concerns and was told by an unnamed Vice Principal that her son “would be safe on the trip, further indicating that the Plaintiff was a bright and well-behaved student who was adored by the older students.”

Lawyer Pacella said the aftermath of the trauma from two years ago has left emotional scars on the boy. “It’s been more than a year and he still has nightmares. He can’t go to school. He can’t go out and play in his own community. His entire childhood has been robbed from him because officials at the school and district couldn’t be bothered to do their jobs and keep him safe.”

The complaint said the young man, “Felt betrayed by the individuals who subjected him to abuse, that he often thinks about the incident, and that he had dreams about the incident happening again in the future. “

No further information on the case or a hearing date are available at this time.