newjerseynewsroom.com

BY GINA G. SCALA

NEWJERSEYNEWSROOM.COM

The mother of a 9-year-old girl bullied by East Dover Elementary School classmates has been charged with assault after allegedly hitting two boys she claims harassed her daughter.

Rebecca Sardoni, 28, and her mother, Stephanie Sardoni, 51, both of Beachwood, were charged and released after confronting the would-be bullies on a school bus Oct. 19, according to the Asbury Park Press. Rebecca Sardoni has been charged with simple assault, criminal trespass and making terroristic threats. Her mother, Stephanie, was charged with criminal trespass.

"I was upset. I wasn't crazy woman upset," Rebecca Sardoni told the Associated Press in an interview. "I don't put my hands on my own kids. I would have never put my hands on anyone's kid.”

Eyewitnesses told police Rebecca Sardoni yelled at one boy and slapped two others; while her mother yelled at all the boys.

"It's crazy that this got blown into me doing something wrong — me and my family — when this is my daughter that is the victim,” Rebecca Sardoni told the AP.

Rebecca Sardoni said she contacted the school about the bullying issues because she believed the school was going to handle the problem, New York Magazine reported. On Oct. 19, her mother accompanied her when she boarded the bus to speak to the bus driver about what was going on, according to New York Magazine.

Rebecca Sardoni claims her daughter, a fourth-grader, was verbally and physically bullied by four students and school officials ignored the complaints; prompting the discussion with the school bus driver and the alleged assault of two boys.

Toms River Police Chief Mike Mastronardy told the Asbury Park Press the boys were treated by school nurses for cuts to their mouths and one boy was taken to a local hospital for a neck injury.

Rebecca Sardoni said she intends to have her daughter transferred to another school and will no longer ride a school bus.

"They're making us look like bad people and we're not. This little girl has been through a lot," she said.

The story seems to have taken on a life of its own, popping up all over the Internet with most comments supporting Sardoni and her mother.

“What do people expect to happen when the schools refuse to even address bullying?” Lisa Marie posted on UPI.com.

And Russ Smith commented on New York Magazine’s article, “Bullying has been implicated in the suicides of too many children. Drastic actions by the Sardonis, lead us to ponder how many dead kids would be alive today, if their families had responded in just that way.”