Mum faces jail for hiding recorder in daughter's backpack to prove she was bullied at school
A mother is facing five years’ jail for putting a recording device in her daughter’s backpack to prove she was being bullied at school.
Sarah Sims, of Norfolk in the US state of Virginia, told local news station WAVY, that her nine-year-old daughter was being bullied at school but staff hadn’t taken action.
The mum claims her emails and calls to Ocean View Elementary were not returned.
Ms Sims then decided to put a digital recorder in her child's backpack in the hopes of catching audio in the classroom.
But the recorder was found, and now the mum could be facing time behind bars.
“I was mortified,” she said.
“The next thing I know, I’m a felon. Felony charges and a misdemeanour when I’m trying to look out for my kid. What do you do?”
Ms Sims’s daughter has since been moved to another classroom.
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The mum was charged with felony use of device to intercept oral communication and misdemeanour contributing to the delinquency of a minor. The felony charge could mean five years in jail.
The school district told WAVY that electronic devices are prohibited from elementary schools, but would not comment on the charges.
But Ms Sims’s lawyer, Kristin Paulding, said neither charge should hold up in court.
The mum is scheduled to have a preliminary hearing on January 18.
