The video, which has been shared nearly 60,000 times, was filmed on Wednesday.
A mother has accused two Georgia elementary school administrators of giving her an ultimatum:
Allow your 5-year-old son to be paddled or face jail time.
"They told me if he could not get a paddling he would have to be suspended and if he got suspended for even one day I WILL go to jail for truancy," Shana Marie Perez wrote in a Facebook posting that included video of son Thomas in a struggle with two administrators. "I could not go to jail or my kids would have nothing . . . I can't take care of my kids in jail."
"I couldn't do anything to stop them," she added.
Perez told NBC affiliate WXIA that the incident amounted to abuse and that she's considering legal action.
The video, which has been shared nearly 60,000 times, was filmed Wednesday and shows the principal and the assistant principal of Jasper County Primary School in Monticello, Ga., attempting to bend the boy over a chair and spank him with a long wooden paddle as he resists and pleads for help. Perez, who pretended to be texting, filmed two more videos showing the altercation, which eventually resulted in the boy being paddled, according to NBC News.
In response to the videos, the Jasper County School District posted a statement on its website last week saying the district is barred by state and federal law from commenting on the details of the incident.
"The District respects every student's right to privacy," the statement said. "However, we can speak generally about the District's code of conduct which allows corporal punishment as one of the consequences for behavior. That code of conduct is provided to all parents. When corporal punishment is used, it is with parental consent."
"The District is investigating the incident and looking into its discipline policies at this time," the statement added.
The Jasper County Sheriff's Office released this statement in response to the controversy on their Facebook page.
"We would like to remind all of our followers of a few things.
"First, this page is all ages. This means any and all profane or abusive statements that are found here can and will be deleted. Legally! (we've checked).
"Second, Corporal Punishment is LEGAL in the State of Georgia. This includes the home and the school.
"Any disagreements with the polices, procedures, concepts or activities of The Jasper County School System or It's employees, should be addressed with the Board of Education.
"Third, the Jasper County Sheriff's Office is aware of a series of videos that have been posted on social media and we can say, with 100% certainty, that there HAS NOT been a report filed, by the mother, with our agency. Additionally, based on the videos, there would not be probable cause for criminal prosecution of any administrators if there were."
Perez told WXIA that the incident was the culmination of an ongoing dispute she has had with her son's principal over his spotty attendance record. She claims a medical problem has resulted in the boy missing 18 days of school this year, but administrators had her arrested for truancy, the station reported.
When her son faced punishment for a disciplinary problem that arose last week, she told the station, administrators informed her that if she attempted to stop them from paddling her son, the boy would be suspended. Perez was out on bond when the incident occurred and feared that a suspension would land her behind bars, which would force her to miss work and be unable to take care of her children.
Perez told WXIA that she declined at the beginning of the year to give school administrators permission to use corporal punishment. She said that when she met with administrators last week to discuss the recent disciplinary issue, she felt helpless to stop administrators from paddling her son. She called what happened "emotionally devastating."
If she could go back, she said, she would have stopped the paddling - regardless of the possibility of landing in jail.
"I feel like she manipulated me," Perez told the station, referring to the principal. "She knew that I was scared. She kept saying he couldn't miss any more days of school."
"She said nothing is going to stop him - not a timeout, not an ISS, nothing but a paddle - because he doesn't have a consequence at school."
The most widely shared video shows Principal Pam Edge and the assistant principal, Lynn McElheney, attempting to hold Thomas down while they calmly tell him that he's going to be paddled.
McElheney tells Thomas that they will hit him only once on the buttocks.
"Unless you wiggle around," Edge adds.
While they struggle to keep Thomas still, he screams and squirms before appealing to his mother.
"Mommy, help me," he cries.
© 2016 The Washington Post
(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Allow your 5-year-old son to be paddled or face jail time.
"They told me if he could not get a paddling he would have to be suspended and if he got suspended for even one day I WILL go to jail for truancy," Shana Marie Perez wrote in a Facebook posting that included video of son Thomas in a struggle with two administrators. "I could not go to jail or my kids would have nothing . . . I can't take care of my kids in jail."
"I couldn't do anything to stop them," she added.
Perez told NBC affiliate WXIA that the incident amounted to abuse and that she's considering legal action.
The video, which has been shared nearly 60,000 times, was filmed Wednesday and shows the principal and the assistant principal of Jasper County Primary School in Monticello, Ga., attempting to bend the boy over a chair and spank him with a long wooden paddle as he resists and pleads for help. Perez, who pretended to be texting, filmed two more videos showing the altercation, which eventually resulted in the boy being paddled, according to NBC News.
In response to the videos, the Jasper County School District posted a statement on its website last week saying the district is barred by state and federal law from commenting on the details of the incident.
"The District respects every student's right to privacy," the statement said. "However, we can speak generally about the District's code of conduct which allows corporal punishment as one of the consequences for behavior. That code of conduct is provided to all parents. When corporal punishment is used, it is with parental consent."
"The District is investigating the incident and looking into its discipline policies at this time," the statement added.
The Jasper County Sheriff's Office released this statement in response to the controversy on their Facebook page.
"We would like to remind all of our followers of a few things.
"First, this page is all ages. This means any and all profane or abusive statements that are found here can and will be deleted. Legally! (we've checked).
"Second, Corporal Punishment is LEGAL in the State of Georgia. This includes the home and the school.
"Any disagreements with the polices, procedures, concepts or activities of The Jasper County School System or It's employees, should be addressed with the Board of Education.
"Third, the Jasper County Sheriff's Office is aware of a series of videos that have been posted on social media and we can say, with 100% certainty, that there HAS NOT been a report filed, by the mother, with our agency. Additionally, based on the videos, there would not be probable cause for criminal prosecution of any administrators if there were."
Perez told WXIA that the incident was the culmination of an ongoing dispute she has had with her son's principal over his spotty attendance record. She claims a medical problem has resulted in the boy missing 18 days of school this year, but administrators had her arrested for truancy, the station reported.
When her son faced punishment for a disciplinary problem that arose last week, she told the station, administrators informed her that if she attempted to stop them from paddling her son, the boy would be suspended. Perez was out on bond when the incident occurred and feared that a suspension would land her behind bars, which would force her to miss work and be unable to take care of her children.
Perez told WXIA that she declined at the beginning of the year to give school administrators permission to use corporal punishment. She said that when she met with administrators last week to discuss the recent disciplinary issue, she felt helpless to stop administrators from paddling her son. She called what happened "emotionally devastating."
If she could go back, she said, she would have stopped the paddling - regardless of the possibility of landing in jail.
"I feel like she manipulated me," Perez told the station, referring to the principal. "She knew that I was scared. She kept saying he couldn't miss any more days of school."
"She said nothing is going to stop him - not a timeout, not an ISS, nothing but a paddle - because he doesn't have a consequence at school."
The most widely shared video shows Principal Pam Edge and the assistant principal, Lynn McElheney, attempting to hold Thomas down while they calmly tell him that he's going to be paddled.
McElheney tells Thomas that they will hit him only once on the buttocks.
"Unless you wiggle around," Edge adds.
While they struggle to keep Thomas still, he screams and squirms before appealing to his mother.
"Mommy, help me," he cries.
© 2016 The Washington Post
(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
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