A teenage boy who was filmed beating a nine-year-old girl around the head on a school bus has been charged with battery.
The 15-year-old can be seen in the sickening footage with another boy pummelling the third-grade girl in the head last Wednesday as others recorded the brutal beating.
None of her fellow students at the Coconut Palm K-8 Academy in Homestead, Florida, intervened in the attack – which was filmed by another pupil.
Instead, her peers filmed the merciless attack from the two boys and started cheering them on as they watched.
Her mother, who only identified herself as Jenni, said that she felt the ‘amount of aggression’ towards her daughter was ‘unnecessary.’
The 15-year-old can be seen in the sickening footage with another boy pummelling the third-grade girl in the head last Wednesday as others recorded the brutal beating
Miami-Dade State Attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle ruled that the school’s police officer giving the boy a civil citation was ‘not enough.’
She said: ‘We believe that, based on the evidence and the circumstances, the use of a civil citation was incompatible with the level of violence displayed by the 15-year-old against his much younger and smaller victim.
‘As a result, we have filed criminal battery charges with our juvenile courts.’
Images show the injuries the little girl was left with, as red marks and bruises covered the skin on her torso and head.
The girl’s mother told Local 10 that violence in and around the school is overwhelming administrators, with those in charge urging her to enroll her three children in a different school.
Her mother claims that her two older children have also been bullied during their short stint at the school, adding that they have done nothing to help since they joined on January 9.
She said that her son, 10, was also attacked on the same bus ride, saying he was hit ‘out of nowhere’.
Speaking after the charges she said: ‘I’m just hoping that he received the rehabilitation that he needs. The amount of aggression he did toward my daughter, I thought was unnecessary.
‘This needs to be taken care of right away. Our children are in danger at school where we are trusting other people to do their jobs.
‘That’s not justifiable. It doesn’t matter what was said. Our kids need to learn that through violence nothing is resolved.
Her mother, Jenni, claims that her two older children have also been bullied during their short stint at the school, adding that they have done nothing to help since they joined on January 9.
Images show the injuries the little girl was left with, as red marks and bruises covered her skin and head
None of her fellow students at the Coconut Palm K-8 Academy in Homestead, Florida , intervened in the attack – which was filmed by another pupil
None of her fellow students at the Coconut Palm K-8 Academy in Homestead, Florida, intervened in the attack
The Miami-Dade Schools Police ruled that the school’s police officer giving the boy a civil citation was ‘not enough’
‘My goal is not to incriminate any other children. My goal is to make sure they have the security for the kids to make sure this doesn’t continue to happen.’
The Miami-Dade Schools Police confirmed that the offenders were arrested, after they responded to the incident around 4.10pm on Wednesday.
Authorities said that they assessed two children for injuries and then released them into the care of their parents.
In a statement, they said: ‘The safety and wellbeing of our students is of the utmost importance.
‘This school district goes to great lengths to promote the values of restraint and respect as well as using social media responsibly. We ask that parents reinforce these principles at home.’
Her mother added: ‘All ages are on that bus and it’s overfilled. It’s very crazy because there’s all this yelling going on in the bus and the two adults on the bus – the bus (driver) and the bus aide, only sit in the front.
‘We’ve had issues before with my son and the kids on the bus, and also in the cafeteria and at dismissal.
Her mother claims that her two older children have also been bullied during their short stint at the school
In a statement, the school said: ‘The safety and wellbeing of our students is of the utmost importance’
‘I already drew the line, and I was also on the phone with the district — I spoke with someone from the district — and the only thing they could advise me of was to continue to speak with the principal and pull up a bully report.
‘You’re taking care of our children — you’re still responsible for them. That’s what you have a job for.
‘Not only to teach them, but if you see anything going on in your classroom, you don’t necessarily have to physically intervene, but call somebody who can. Because if somebody’s child ends up dead, it’s on the school.’
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