The mother of a bullied Florida schoolgirl is in jail after allegedly throwing an irritating powder into the eyes of two of her daughter’s alleged attackers.
James approached the two alleged bullies, ages 8 and 11, and threw a powdery irritant into their eyes. The two children ran screaming into the school office.
Both alleged bullies told the school administration that a parent had confronted them and put something in their eyes. They also said James had told them, “Leave my daughter alone.”
Other witnesses said they saw James pointing at a child’s face before the attack.
James left the campus before school officials could find her. James was later arrested and charged with child abuse, disruption of a school function, and battery.
She is currently being held at the Brevard County Jail Complex on an $11,500 bond.
The school nurse treated the two students for burning noses and inflamed, tearing eyes. The nurse said red and white powder smelled like cayenne pepper.
“We were told that her daughter was being bullied by these girls,” Cocoa Police Department spokeswoman Yvonne Martinez told Florida Today. “But that doesn’t justify what she did.”
Daughter Allegedly Endured Months of Abuse
Larry Barkley, James’s husband, said that their daughter had been enduring bullying for months.The parents had reported the bullying and school officials said they were investigating, but no action had been taken. Barkley said he and James were tired of the ongoing assaults on their daughter.
Barkley told Fox News, “I stand by what my wife did for one reason. You do not attack no one’s child. And beat them up, and have them afraid to walk the street or ride a bike.”
Matt Reed, assistant superintendent of Brevard County Schools, told WFTV, “They reported the bullying—the alleged bullying—to school administration, which by law and policy, was doing an investigation of the bullying. That’s an extensive process.”
Cocoa Police spokeswoman Yvonne Martinez said she understood James’s action but could not condone it.