Mother charged with assault, claims boys bullied her daughter
By Rande Iaboni, CNN
(CNN) - Toms River, New Jersey police charged a mother with simple assault, criminal trespassing, and terroristic threats after an altercation with two boys on a public school bus. Rebecca Sardoni, 28, claims the boys had bullied her daughter, according to reports from the Toms River Regional School District.
Toms River Police Chief Michael Mastronardy told CNN today that Sardoni boarded the bus Friday morning and, according to witnesses, confronted two boys sitting in the back and slapped them both.
Sardoni claims she was protecting her 9-year-old daughter from school bullies and that three kids in her daughter's class have been harassing her daughter, even assaulting the student sexually.
Director of Communications for the Toms River Regional School District, Tammi Millar confirmed to CNN that Sardoni did report a bullying incident to the principal of East Dover Elementary School on Thursday afternoon. The incident would have been investigated that next day, "but she stepped on to that bus Friday morning" and took matters into her hands, Millar said.
According to Millar, Sardoni stormed the school bus and called out a child's name. After one boy raised his hand, Sardoni slapped him and the boy sitting next to him, Millar said.
She was subsequently arrested by police. Mastronardy told CNN both boys were seen by Toms River Regional nurses. One of the boys was later treated at the Community Medical Center but is now at home.
Mastronardy said that although there were some indications of bullying, there has been some confusion regarding whether the child Sardoni thought was responsible was in fact the person she actually struck. Millar confirmed to CNN today that Sardoni slapped the wrong boy. "When she talks about dealing with the bullies she had the wrong child and that is not her place."
Sardoni denies putting her hands on the boys. "They turned this around like these boys are the victim," Sardoni told CNN affiliate News 12 New Jersey, "My daughter was the victim."
Sardoni is expected to appear in court Monday October 29th. (News 12 New Jersey video)
We'd like to know, how far would you go to protect your child from a bully? Leave your comments in the section below.
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If the bullying went on long enough and/or got violent enough then I would go as far as threatening the lives of the kid's parents who is bullying her unless the kid was eighteen and then I would beat the kid within an inch of his/her life. But I will only go this far if my child had already tried and failed to properly defend his/her self.
I think that she was right to want to protect her daughter, but this was a little bit too far. She should have spoken to teachers about the issue first, then she might have been right to move to talking to the bullie's parents. There are definitely non-violent ways to deal with this.
Thursday afternoon report harassment, Friday morning attack... nice. If it was that important to be under arrest for assault, wouldn't notifying the cops be a better route. She sounds as bad as the bullies.
Kudos to this mom.She may just have saved her daughter's life.How many victims of bullies have committed siucide in recent years while the school administration is "still investigating".I would do the same!Parents take on these bullies on the school bus if you have to ,that's your children we're talking about!
Schools have abdicated their authority to the bullies. This situation would not happen if proper security was implemented to begin with.
Definitely agree on this one, i think i would of done the same to these bullies myself. if they can give it then they should be able to take it, thats my views
What would I do... to protect my daughter from a bully... Anything that needed to be done... If that means I would put my daughter through Karate so she can defend herself.. Or that I'd get jail time for confronting the bullies myself.. So be it...
Yes dexter you are right. No kid or even a teacher has the right to bully our kids. id do the same. I wouldnt just stand there and do nothing. id take matters to my own hands.