A Mother Has Been Charged With Felony After Putting Recorder In 9-Year-Old Daughter’s Backpack To Catch Bullying

As a mother, you want to do anything you can to make sure your kids are happy and safe. So when your kid comes home crying saying that they are being bullied, you want the school to do something about it.

A Virginia mother is facing five years in prison for putting a recorder in her daughter’s backpack after she complained that she was being bullied. The 9-year-old goes to Ocean View Elementary School in Norfolk.

The mother, Sarah Sims, reportedly called the school multiple times, leaving messages, but the school never returned her calls. So, she decided to put a digital recorder in her daughter’s backpack. Essentially, taking matters into her own hands.

Sims told WAVY that she did this in hopes of getting audio inside the classroom in order to prove that the school was doing nothing to stop the bullying.

But once the recorder was discovered, Sims told news reports that her daughter was kicked out of the class and about a month later, Sims was arrested.

She told WAVY, “I was mortified. The next thing I know, I’m a felon. Felony charges and a misdemeanor when I’m trying to look out for my kid. What do you do?”

When interviewed by the news outlet, she said: “The thing that bothers me the most is that I am yet to get a response from anyone in the administration.”

It’s been reported by NYdailynews that Sims was charged with “felony use of a device to intercept oral communication and misdemeanor contributing to the delinquency of a minor.”

If Sims is found guilty, she could end up in prison for five years, with another 12-month maximum penalty for the misdemeanor charge, her attorney Kristin Paulding commented.

She told WAVY, “They aren’t making this about the classroom…These aren’t charges that carry jail time.” The school also commented on this entire situation, making it a point that electronic devices are prohibited from elementary schools.

However, they wouldn’t comment on the charges that were filed against Sims. Though Paulding doesn’t think that these charges are going to hold up in court. Hopefully, all of this will be resolved and the case at hand will be focused on the bullying.

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