'Stop protecting bullies!' Father fights back on Facebook against son's year-long torment after school and police failed to respond
Matthew Bent was enraged when he says
Wisconsin police brushed him off when he came to report that his son
was body-slammed by a bully at school, so the father decided to take
matters into his own hands with the help of Facebook.
Last week, the Kaukauna, Wisconsin, resident posted a photo onto his online account in which he and his son are posing with a handwritten sign that reads: 'Bullying needs to stop now. Tell school districts that protecting bullies by turning a blind eye is wrong. Shame on Kaukauna area schools for protecting a bully in their school.’
Bent's desperate Facebook plea and call to action against bullying has gone viral, with nearly 450,000 'likes' and more than 460,000 'shares' since the photo was uploaded unto Facebook March 26.
Scroll down to watch news conferences on bullying
Bent explained on the social media
site that on March 25, his son, a sixth-grader at River View Middle
School, was body-slammed three times by a bully who has been making the
boy’s 'school year a living nightmare.'
The father added that the same boy also stole a necklace he had given his son as a special gift to mark his first year in Little League.
Following the body-slamming incident that took place during gym class, Bent called police but was told that because his son voluntarily came into the area were his alleged tormentor was, it was ultimately his fault 'for going into the lions [sic] den,' and there was nothing to be done about it.
'When I told the officer that this bully had been bullying my son all year, he said he only takes one issue at a time ad the past was done,' Bent wrote in a post accompanying the photo.
Mr Bent then went on the offensive against the Kaukauna School District, accusing education officials of 'protecting bullies and ignoring their victims.’
'My son has been bullied all school year by this group of thugs, and not 1 teacher, administrator, councilor or officer will do anything to make it stop, they only offer excuses and blame the victims!!!'
Bent fumed. 'Please help me in the effort to stop bullying!!!'
Speaking to the Huffington Post
this week, Bent said the response has been surprising. Many commenters
on the social media site praised the father's efforts to address the
growing epidemic of bullying in a non-violent way, while others shared
their own stories of being tormented in school.
However, in a recent press conference reported by Fox 11, Kaukauna Police Chief John Manion lambasted the Facebook community for jumping to conclusions about the case of Bent's son without knowing all the facts.
Manion acknowledged that the boy had the breath knocked out of him by a classmate, but said that it was the child's own decision to take part in wrestling.
On his part, Kaukauna Superintendent Mark Duerwaechter told the station WFRV that counter to what Mr Bent has claimed, his district 'does not protect bullies.'
Mr Bent said that last week's incident during gym class started when a bully took his son's shoes. Another student took one of the shoes and threw it at the boy, striking him in the groin and forcing him to the ground in pain.
According to Mr Bent, his son's chief tormentor then came over and pretended to offer him a hand to help him get up, but instead body-slammed him three times onto a wrestling mat.
A school police officer spoke to the
three boys who allegedly bullied Bent's son, but the entire incident was
dismissed as consensual roughhousing, Bent said.
To add insult to injury, Matthew Bent said that when he called the school principal to discuss the incident, he was ignored. This proved to be the final straw, and the following day Bent rolled out his anti-bullying campaign on Facebook.
Bent has spent the past week posting about bullying incidents in other schools, including one in Australia, and talking about the problem with groups dedicated to this cause.
Since assuming his unexpected role as an advocate for victims of bullying, Bent said that local school officials signaled to him that they intend to follow through on his son's case.
Speaking on a Philadelphia radio program The Big T and Paul Show over the weekend, Matthew Bent's son said that he knows bullying is wrong, and he felt he had to tell his father about it before it's too late.
'If I would have hit the ground the wrong way and my neck would have snapped, I would have been done,' the boy said.
Last week, the Kaukauna, Wisconsin, resident posted a photo onto his online account in which he and his son are posing with a handwritten sign that reads: 'Bullying needs to stop now. Tell school districts that protecting bullies by turning a blind eye is wrong. Shame on Kaukauna area schools for protecting a bully in their school.’
Bent's desperate Facebook plea and call to action against bullying has gone viral, with nearly 450,000 'likes' and more than 460,000 'shares' since the photo was uploaded unto Facebook March 26.
Scroll down to watch news conferences on bullying
Online plea: Matthew Bent posted this photo onto
his Facebook page in which he and his son are posing with a handwritten
sign that takes the local school district to task for failing to
protect the boy from bullies
Cartoon with a message: Bent's Facebook call to
action against bullying has gone viral, with nearly 450,000 'likes' and
more than 460,000 'shares,' and even inspired one of his supporters to
create this cartoon
The father added that the same boy also stole a necklace he had given his son as a special gift to mark his first year in Little League.
Following the body-slamming incident that took place during gym class, Bent called police but was told that because his son voluntarily came into the area were his alleged tormentor was, it was ultimately his fault 'for going into the lions [sic] den,' and there was nothing to be done about it.
'When I told the officer that this bully had been bullying my son all year, he said he only takes one issue at a time ad the past was done,' Bent wrote in a post accompanying the photo.
Mr Bent then went on the offensive against the Kaukauna School District, accusing education officials of 'protecting bullies and ignoring their victims.’
'My son has been bullied all school year by this group of thugs, and not 1 teacher, administrator, councilor or officer will do anything to make it stop, they only offer excuses and blame the victims!!!'
Bent fumed. 'Please help me in the effort to stop bullying!!!'
Father's outrage: Matt Bent said his son, a
sixth-grader at River View Middle School, was body-slammed three times
during gym class by a bully who has been tormenting him all year
However, in a recent press conference reported by Fox 11, Kaukauna Police Chief John Manion lambasted the Facebook community for jumping to conclusions about the case of Bent's son without knowing all the facts.
Manion acknowledged that the boy had the breath knocked out of him by a classmate, but said that it was the child's own decision to take part in wrestling.
On his part, Kaukauna Superintendent Mark Duerwaechter told the station WFRV that counter to what Mr Bent has claimed, his district 'does not protect bullies.'
Mr Bent said that last week's incident during gym class started when a bully took his son's shoes. Another student took one of the shoes and threw it at the boy, striking him in the groin and forcing him to the ground in pain.
According to Mr Bent, his son's chief tormentor then came over and pretended to offer him a hand to help him get up, but instead body-slammed him three times onto a wrestling mat.
Taking action: Bent's son, pictured with his
father and brother, told a radio station that he felt he had to tell his
father about the ongoing bullying before it is too late
To add insult to injury, Matthew Bent said that when he called the school principal to discuss the incident, he was ignored. This proved to be the final straw, and the following day Bent rolled out his anti-bullying campaign on Facebook.
Bent has spent the past week posting about bullying incidents in other schools, including one in Australia, and talking about the problem with groups dedicated to this cause.
Since assuming his unexpected role as an advocate for victims of bullying, Bent said that local school officials signaled to him that they intend to follow through on his son's case.
Speaking on a Philadelphia radio program The Big T and Paul Show over the weekend, Matthew Bent's son said that he knows bullying is wrong, and he felt he had to tell his father about it before it's too late.
'If I would have hit the ground the wrong way and my neck would have snapped, I would have been done,' the boy said.