Copyright Joliet, IL Patch
A 15-year-old has been bullied for years, and his mom says there is not enough action being taken. MASSAPEQUA, NY – A Massapequa High School student has been bullied for years — without any consequences to those taunting him, his mother said. The mom, 40, said that her 15-year-old son has been verbally and physically attacked and stalked by a group of boys for years, and it has taken a toll on his mental health. The names of mother and son have been withheld to protect the juvenile's identity. “There was a bad incident in sixth grade that was never addressed by the school,” she said. “Nothing came of it. I was told ‘kids will be kids,’ meanwhile, he was called gay slurs, and now suffers from PTSD from it.” His mother said that her son has ASD, which the kids use when taunting him. He now has PTSD and depression, as well as anxiety when going to school, even with an aide at his side. The bullying has affected his school work and attendance, she said. “It’s a group of kids that ride around on their bikes and terrorize everyone, not just my son,” she said. “The elderly, younger kids. I get messages from other parents who are afraid to come forward.” The bullying toned down after sixth grade, but picked back up at the end of ninth grade, she said — her son is now in tenth grade. “There was an incident where he was punched in the back by a kid, and they flipped his bike over and took the chain off, messing up his gear,” she said. “We called the cops for advice, but they said there’s nothing they could do. It was outside of a local business, and they wouldn’t give me the video footage. They don’t want to get involved and have damage done to their business.” She recounted another incident that occurred after one of her son's weekly singing lessons. “He stopped at IGA to get grapes and a soda,” she said. “As soon as he got out of lessons, the kids were sitting there screaming his name. They got in his face and started recording him saying homophobic slurs and stuff about him being on the spectrum. Kids spit on his face, recorded him, and threw rocks and sticks at him.” She continued by saying that it wasn’t just one or two kids, it was about 25 kids swarming him on Sep. 24. “They chased him down," she said. "He called my dad, his grandpa, who lives nearby. My dad gets there and starts screaming at the kids to leave him alone." About a week later, there was another incident, she said. “This has all been such a big blur,” she said. “We were doing an interview" — for a news outlet — "and the kids found out where we were in a park and started laughing at him, calling him names. They did this with me there, the camera crew there, and they didn’t care. They have no shame. They’re not scared." She said the kids only got nervous when they thought she took her phone out to start filming them. “He used to be this ray of sunshine,” she said. “He would be friends with everyone. Talk to everyone. He doesn’t have a mean bone in his body." She added: "Now, he just wants to stay home alone. He’s been hospitalized over this. I haven’t been able to process this all. My son is afraid to go to class. He won’t tell us all the kids’ names because he actually has classes with them. That’s why he hasn’t been to school much.” His mother emphasized the need for the school to address bullying more effectively and for the community to take action. “He’s scared,” she said. “We’ve made so many reports to the school and the cops. Nothing’s being done because they said we don’t have proof. We’re told to move on and to let my son adjust his school schedule. He’s already hardly going to school. We have a tutor at our house. It’s always us doing everything.” Her son wants the bullying to stop, she said, so he can have a normal life and make friends. “He loves learning,” she said. “He wants to make friends. His closest friend passed away from cancer last year due to a genetically passed cancer, and he wants to be a geneticist now.” His mother hopes to ensure that people do not target the young people involved. “That would be more bullying in my eyes,” she said. “I don’t want anyone to go after these kids. It’s their parents that need to do better.” Her son has spoken out himself, pleading with the school board to hear him during a Massapequa school board meeting, saying that his only friends are his teachers, she said. The Massapequa School District sent a statement regarding the incident to Patch: "As a matter of practice, the Massapequa School District does not comment on individual student matters to protect student privacy and confidentiality as required by federal and state law. However, all matters related to bullying are taken extremely seriously. Every complaint filed under the Dignity for All Students Act is fully and thoroughly investigated promptly and appropriately in accordance with district policy and state regulations." To further support Massapequa's commitment to maintaining safe and respectful learning environments, the district said it has created an online reporting tool that is easily accessible to students, parents and staff.
