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Modern day bullying: recorded fights and social media threats

One mother says she's taking a stand
Posted at 10:46 PM, May 11, 2017
and last updated 2017-05-12 07:00:39-04

LEE COUNTY, Fla. -- Students fighting and then sharing video of the brutal beat down on social media.  Wednesday a Riverdale High School student in Fort Myers who was accused of bullying was arrested.

According to the Lee County Sheriff's office, cell phone video shows the teen repeatedly punching a student in a bathroom.

"She caught me off guard and started punching and punching," said the victim according to LCSO documents.

This is modern day bullying: ruthless taunting that follows your child on campus and off.

A video posted to Snapchat shows young girls covering their faces, and someone off camera sends a message to all watching.  "On Monday everybody we need y'all to make Makayla - whatever her last name is - Makayla C., ya'll need to mess her up. Ya'll need to make her life hell."

Makayla is a 13 year-old 6th grader at Citrus Springs Middle School in Citrus County. Her mother Crystal Nepton says the video is still difficult to watch.

"Seeing the video initially it was heartbreaking," said Nepton.

Heartbreaking because her daughter was previously threatened off-campus. During the incident she posted a picture on Snapchat with a caption saying she was told not to leave the facility because there's a chance she would be jumped.  "I went to the principal; I went to the authorities and nobody would listen. It was just like everybody continued to downplay bullying as kids acting like kids," said Nepton. 

She believes the consequences of these online actions can be tragic.

The Netflix show "13 Reason's Why" tells the story of teen who committed suicide after being bullied.  It's a fictional story, but bullying is a very real issue; one that Nepton says she's taking head on.  And not just to protect her children.

"Don't be quiet; don't settle for what the school is telling you their policy is," said Nepton. "We're losing our children to this, and it all boils back down to one thing and that's bullying."

An administrator at Citrus Middle School told Fox 4 that two students were suspended in connection to the Snapchat video.