Broadcast beating, school’s response shake family’s faith
Nicholas Cotton isn’t the first student to get beaten up in school.
But what happened to the 16-year-old freshman at Green Valley High School last month has his mom questioning how school officials responded.
Nicholas was assaulted in a classroom just before the start of his late-period algebra class on April 13. The incident was recorded by another student on a cell phone camera and then broadcast on the popular YouTube.com Web site. The video showed a student whose face could not be seen pummeling Nicholas on the back of his head, neck and back.
Nicholas said the attack was unprovoked and done by a classmate to whom he had never spoken.
“I was surprised, shocked that it was happening,” he said.
Nicholas said he “relived what happened in the classroom” when he learned that video footage was posted on the video-sharing Web site.
It has since been pulled from YouTube.
Nicholas’ mother, Karen, said seeing what her son has gone through has “put a hole in her heart.”
But she is also upset by the way Green Valley administrators handled the situation. Karen Cotton said Principal Jeff Horn told her the school couldn’t protect her son after the alleged attacker returned to the school after a week’s suspension.
Nicholas, who said the other teen has threatened him after the initial attack, hasn’t gone back to Green Valley since April 26.
Karen Cotton also said Horn tried to dissuade her from pursuing charges with Green Valley’s campus police.
Horn denies telling the mother that the school couldn’t protect her son. He also denies trying to thwart her attempts to go to campus police for help.
“That absolutely was never said,” Horn said.
Karen Cotton said she unsuccessfully tried to press charges against the attacker twice after the assault. Both times, she said, she was told by school officials that police officers at the school were busy.
She said she finally filled out all the paperwork April 26 with campus police for charges to be pressed. She said the attacker has a juvenile court hearing on June 22 as a result of the attack.
Joseph Sciscento, the lawyer representing the alleged attacker, confirmed his client has a June 22 arraignment date.
Sciscento said he still hasn’t reviewed all the facts of his client’s case, but he did say that the incident involved something more than what was described by Nicholas Cotton. Sciscento said his client and Nicholas Cotton did know each other.
“It wasn’t just that my client walked up and hit him,” Sciscento said. “There’s more there and the case is going to show that.”
Karen Cotton said she does not know whether the student who videotaped the fight and posted it on YouTube was punished.
Horn said he won’t comment directly about the investigation into the fight or the punishment that was dealt to any student involved because of confidentiality laws.
But he said in general terms that any instance in which a student or faculty member was unknowingly videotaped or tape recorded may lead to a punishment.
“Any student or staff member at the school has a reasonable expectation that they are not being taped or recorded in any way,” Horn said. “If someone is videotaping or recording, they are in violation of some kind of regulation. We would investigate and take action depending on what happened or occurred.”
Karen Cotton provided the Review-Journal with a signed confession by a Green Valley student who admitted recording the fight on his cell phone. In the letter, the student admitted he downloaded the video footage on YouTube. The teenager apologized to the Cotton family.
Horn said that fights at his school are uncommon and that his school does treat victims appropriately.
“School should be a safe place to go where teaching and learning goes on,” Horn said. “Unfortunately, from time to time, fights happen. But in 99.9 percent of the time, they (victims) return to school successfully and are fine.”
Edward Goldman, the associate superintendent of the Education Services Division, which oversees student expulsions, said principals have the authority to determine on a case-by-case basis how much punishment to dole out to students who fight.
He said principals can recommend expulsion for students who beat up other students.
Goldman also said there is no district regulation against students who post questionable material on the Internet outside of school grounds unless a threat is involved.
“I’m not aware of any violation unless it’s accompanied by a threat,” Goldman said.
The district does have a regulation that says students should not willfully terrorize, intimidate or harass other students, Goldman said.
Katie Barmettler, Clark County School District’s coordinator for Safe And Drug-Free Schools, said bullying has been a focus of educators since the 1999 Columbine shootings.
Barmettler said the fact that the two students behind the school massacre were bullied made people more aware of how serious the problem can be.
Barmettler said bullies in elementary school typically appear on the playgrounds.
“At the secondary level they appear in the hallways, shoving kids in the lockers and in classrooms,” Barmettler said.
He said the district doesn’t keep track of how many bullying incidents occur, and that bullies tend to stay under the radar.
Barmettler said the program teaches students and administrators proper techniques to deal with bullies.
She said the Safe and Drug-Free Schools program focuses on bystanders who witness bullying. The program emphasizes the difference between reporting and tattling.
Barmettler said reporting occurs when students tell the proper authorities about a bully in order to help them and the victim, while tattling is meant to get someone in trouble.
Barmettler said school administrators need to let students know there are serious consequences for students who bully.
Karen Cotton said her son’s grades have dropped dramatically from A’s and B’s to D’s and F’s after the incident.
She said Nicholas will finish the school year by completing his homework from home. He will be home schooled next year, she said.
Cotton said the only justice in the matter will be if her son’s attacker is locked up.
“The student is a danger and he doesn’t deserve to be at any school in Clark County.”
