Alleged bullying incident leads to arrest in Norwich

Victim’s father: Officials at Kelly Middle School have ignored complaints

Norwich — A 14-year-old girl was arrested Thursday at Kelly Middle School following an alleged bullying incident in which an eighth-grade boy suffered minor injuries.

The boy’s father, Timothy Wilcox, said the incident was the culmination of two years of bullying his son has suffered at the seventh- and eighth-grade school. He said he and the boy’s mother have made more than 30 complaints to school officials that his son has been the target of bullying, and the complaints have been ignored.

Police said Friday the girl was charged with third-degree assault and breach of peace and was issued a summons to appear in juvenile court on June 8.

Police released few details of the incident, citing confidentiality in juvenile matters, but said an officer was at the school investigating a separate incident outside the building, when he learned of the 1 p.m. incident. The girl allegedly punched and pushed the boy to the floor in the hallway. School safety officer Alex Choiniere pulled the accused student off the boy, police said.

Wilcox said his son, who he asked not to be identified, was jumped by the girl and knocked to the ground “not once, but twice.” He said the girl initially was sent to the office without an escort and returned just a couple minutes later and “jumped him a second time.” The boy suffered bruises to his arms and pelvis and “a goose egg” bump on his head, his father said. He brought the boy to the William W. Backus Hospital.

Wilcox said school administrators “failed to keep my son safe,” and have ignored his repeated complaints.

“A lot of people pick on me about my shoes and my hair and a lot of other stuff,” the boy said Friday,

“and nobody did anything about it. My dad has called multiple times, almost every single day, and they didn’t do anything about it.”

Superintendent Abby Dolliver said she could not comment on specifics of incidents involving students. She said school staff reacted as soon as the incident occurred but she acknowledged that the large, 700-student school building is difficult to police.

“I’m investigating and taking proper action,” Dolliver said. “We reacted as soon as we knew about it. A student did go after him . ... It’s a situation we address with all parties involved on a regular basis.”

Wilcox disagreed with that assessment.

“The issue was not addressed,” Wilcox said. “My son got jumped twice in the same day, so how did they act accordingly? They did not escort the girl down to the office, and it would have prevented her from doing it again.”