A Virginia teenager is being charged with assault and banned from school after being beaten so badly by four students he was hospitalized for nine days in an anti-gay attack.
Early last month 14-year old Eric Martin (photo, above) was bullied and beaten by at least four Highland Springs High School classmates in Henrico, Virginia.Â
Now, police are charging Eric with two counts of assault because he supposedly threw the first punch. School officials refuse to allow him back into school until he signs a statement saying he threatened the school — a charge he denies, and a charge for which the school has no proof.
Eric was hospitalized for nine days because of the brutal beating. Early reports stated “Eric’s arm is possibly broken. He is suffering from a concussion, and doctors have placed him on brain rest.” He was also reportedly “on suicide watch.”
“When I try to call the school, and I try to get answers they just blow me off,” Mary Martin, Eric’s mother, told WWBT. “They don’t want to talk to me.” She says Eric has been called “gay” and a “faggot.”
“Bullying is real,” cried Martin. “And bullying can take your children away from here if you don’t pay close attention.”Â
Mary Martin “admits Eric threw the first punch, but she says he was a victim of bullying. She says he was constantly hit with gay slurs,” NBC 12Â reports. Â “I’m angry, and I’m hurt,” Mary Martin also said. “He’s got bruises all down the spine of his back where he was just slammed on that table.”
Martin says the injuries come after Eric got fed up with alleged bullying and decided to fight back.
“He admitted it to the police officer,” said Martin. “He did hit him, but he has been bullied by these children the whole time.”
“They want to charge my son. They started fussing with each other. It turned into a shoving match…which turned into a hospital stay.”
The school also sent an email to parents saying the incident is being dealt with according to their established policies and procedures. Â In this case, it seems to be the zero tolerance policy.
“So in other words the four or five boys can beat my boy to death,” said Martin. “And he gets one slap in and gets charged, too? That’s plain ridiculous.”
Mom feels this all makes for unnecessary stress during her son’s difficult recovery.
“I’m not going to walk away from this,” said Martin. “I want the school held accountable.”
The Virginia Anti-Violence Project issued a statement that “condemns the brutal assault on Eric Martin.”
Eric’s family has started a campaign, Letters for Eric, to show the bullied teen support. The address is:
Letters for Eric, P.O.Box 993, Sandston, Va. 23150
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