Mother arrested for storming into school, confronting son's bullies
GREENVILLE COUNTY, S.C. (FOX 35 ORLANDO) - A South Carolina mother was arrested after walking into her son's elementary school and confronting the kids she says have been bullying her 3rd grade son.
Jamie Rathburn was arrested on May 20. Rathburn had reportedly contacted a teacher at Greenbrier Elementary School in December after a kid had made fun of her son. The bullying allegedly continued with her son being subjected to name-calling, being hit with a computer and being pulled off a slide by his neck, according to the Greenville News.
Rathburn reportedly was fed up and decided to take matters into her own hands. According to a police report, she posted a now-deleted video to Facebook, ranting about the abuse her son was enduring at school. The police report stated that on May 17, Rathburn “snuck into the school and confronted kids that she estimated to be 9 years old.” She then warned them that “she was not playing around and that they better stop messing with her kid.”
Her Facebook video was brought to the attention of Greenbrier authorities. School security footage allegedly showed Rathburn going to her son's classroom in the morning as the kids were lined up outside the classroom and "pointing her finger at the kids and getting in their faces," according to one witness.
Another teacher told authorities that when he brought Rathburn into his classroom after the incident, she cursed him out and stormed out of the room.
Rathburn was arrested days later. She was reportedly a 'class mom' who would help out with school events, but is now no longer allowed on the grounds.
She told Yahoo! in an email that she was sorry for her actions and that is was out of desperation to protect her son.
“I dont know when it's time to protect [my] child’s mental health, but I think [doing something] now before something bad happens is better than five years from now when something bad has already happened.”
“I dont want my child committing suicide or shooting up a school because no one heard his cries," she told Yahoo!.
Her court date is set for June 18.