Boy’s family still angry over bullying incident

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Updated: December 26, 2011 10:39PM

AURORA — Sylvia Caudillo sat anxiously in the audience of the East Aurora School Board meeting Monday night, determined to have her voice heard.

The angry aunt of a bullied Simmons Middle School student had three minutes or less to stand in the spotlight, and her speech had been timed to a T.

For months Caudillo has been seeking action from the district concerning an incident involving her nephew, a special education student. The boy’s pants, and boxers, had been pulled down in a gym class confrontation, which his family has called a sexual assault. The incident landed both boys in the principal’s office where they gave written statements.

The offender’s statement alleged that the whole thing was an accident. He was tripped, the statement said. And that was that. After his simply reply, Caudillo said, the boy was let go, and no disciplinary action was taken.

The victim’s mother, Maria Vega, angry that she was never notified by the school about the incident, was also furious that no punishment had been handed down. It’s impossible to fall and pull someone’s pants and underwear down, she said. Even Vega’s son had written that he didn’t believe the assault was an accident.

Last month Vega addressed the board with her concerns.

School Board President Annette Johnson confirmed that she and the board looked into the allegations, and found no evidence of misconduct by the administration.

According to Johnson, the district has taken the issue seriously, and followed an appropriate course of action concerning Vega’s complaint. This included consulting the district’s lawyer who determined no wrong action was taken involving the bullying incident.

Caudillo, Vega, and her son don’t agree.

Caudillo has alleged that statements supposedly made by her nephew appear to be written in someone else’s writing. She handed each board member copies of those statements during her three-minute presentation.

Most upsetting to Vega is the fact that her son was questioned twice by Simmons’administrators, without his mother contacted, or present. Phone records presented by Caudillo Monday night show that the school’s principal never attempted to contact the mother, or leave a message notifying her of the incident.

Caudillo said that according school policy, a parent must be notified by phone about the interrogation of their child. This should hold especially true when involving a special education student, she said.

“We were not called or informed of this situation (that my son was being bullied) by his own principal because she was worried about her reputation,” Vega wrote in her board statement.

At the three-minute mark, the board cut off Caudillo’s statement, and moved to the next item on the agenda. The board does not usually comment after such presentations.