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High Schoolers Allegedly Beat Classmate With Autism Until He Was Unconscious In Pool Of Blood
“Why him?” the boy's mother asked after her son was allegedly attacked by Damon Simmons and three minors in a school bathroom.
A group of Kentucky high school students allegedly brutally beat their classmate, a boy with autism, before he was found unconscious and lying in a pool of his own blood.
The victim, who has not been named, was allegedly confronted by a group of four at Iroquois High School in Louisville last Thursday, the Lexington Herald Leader reports. The group gathered near a school bathroom and when the victim approached, they allegedly followed him inside.
One of the suspects is accused of acting as a lookout at the door of the bathroom while the others attacked the victim. They allegedly ripped his phone out of his hand and threw it on the bathroom floor before they “beat the victim with their hands and feet until he was knocked unconscious,” court records obtained by the Herald Leader state.
After the attack, another classmate found the victim, a 17-year-old senior, lying in a pool of his own blood in the bathroom, according to local outlet WAVE.
The boy's jaw was fractured in the attack and several of his teeth were damaged. He had to undergo surgery to repair his lower jaw and a metal plate had to be installed, according to WDRB in Louisville.
The only suspect who has been identified is Damon Simmons, 18. The others are juveniles.
Simmons has been charged with second-degree assault and second-degree criminal mischief. He pleaded not guilty Saturday, and is being held on a $25,000 bond. It’s not clear if he has an attorney who can speak on his behalf.
A spokesperson for the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office told WDRB that the juveniles involved are also facing charges including first-degree wanton endangerment, first-degree unlawful imprisonment, and second-degree assault.
The boy has autism, WAVE reports. His mother Carrie Skaggs told WDRB that her son “doesn’t remember too much at all” but said that he is “not doing good mentally or physically.”
“Why him?” she asked. “It could’ve been anyone else in that school, but why him? He does what he’s supposed to do, so why pick on a kid that is there to get an education?”
Simmons is due back in court on Nov. 26.
