School Administrator Paddles 5-Year-Old, Mom Speaks Out

MONTICELLO, GA (CBS) – A Georgia mother says she regrets giving school administrators permission to physically punish her 5-year-old son. The mom secretly recorded what happened when the boy was held down and threatened with a wooden paddle at his school near Atlanta.

"What happened at that school Wednesday was not a paddling, it was not a spanking, it was abuse," said Shana Perez, the child's mother.

The principal and assistant principal said they were punishing the 5-year-old with a paddle because he got into a fight and spit on another student. The two administrators from Jasper County Primary School tried to get the kindergartner to stand still.

Thomas' mother, Shana Perez secretly recorded the video. She says she was told to allow the punishment or he would be suspended.

"It was either let them paddle him or go back to jail for truancy," Perez said.

Perez says she was arrested earlier this year because her son had 18 unexcused absences.

Jasper County School released a statement saying in part,

"When corporal punishment is used, it is with parental consent. The District is investigating the incident, and looking into its' discipline policies. In the state of Georgia, corporal punishment is not a crime."

19 states allow children to be hit in public schools. In many places, parental permission is required.

"I shouldn't have been worried about going to jail, I should have been worried about my child's safety, but at the same time I didn't know it was going to happen like that," Perez said.

The Facebook post of the incident has about two million views so far.