Cobb 12-year-old with special needs came home with loose teeth after school says he fell from chair

Michele Newell
·2 min read
7

A Cobb County family is searching for answers after they picked their child with special needs up from school with several loose teeth.

Jessica Belton’s 12-year-old son attends Awtrey Middle School in Kennesaw. The Beltons told Channel 2 Cobb County Bureau Chief Michele Newell the child is still recovering from severe injuries to his mouth, which they say occurred in early October while the child was at school.

“A.J. doesn’t talk, A.J. cannot walk, so I just don’t understand, and I feel like they are saying he did it to himself to cover up what happened to him,” said Jessica Belton,  A.J.’s mother.

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“Him being his size and being handicapped, there’s no way he tipped this chair over. Even though it’s been a month, this is very upsetting,” said Jessica Belton Sr., A.J.’s grandmother.

“They failed us. Absolutely, and they are pushing us off,” said Belton.

The boy’s mother recorded a video of herself demonstrating what she says the school told her. In the video you can see Belton, getting into the same chair and leaning forward, touching her toes. Belton explains in the video how she is much larger than her son and didn’t fall out of the chair.

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“He’s about 38 to 39 pounds and they are telling me he leaned forward in the chair and it fell on top of him but it doesn’t make sense to me. The only person that apologized to me was the principal. I want them to cover his medical bills. I want somebody to tell me what happened,” said Belton.

The Beltons say they received a letter from the district denying all claims regarding the accident.

The letter goes on to say the doctrine of sovereign immunity provides the district with absolute immunity from a suit, including any claims arising out of the accident.

“I’m tired of crying, I want some answers,” said Belton.

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