Mother charged after putting recording device in daughter's backpack to catch 'bullying'

A mother has been charged by police in the US after putting a recording device in her daughter’s backpack to catch alleged bullying.

Sarah Sims, from Virginia, admitted to local news website WAVY she placed the electronic recorder in her nine-year-old daughter’s bag to record classroom conversations after suspecting she was being bullied.

She claims her emails and calls to Ocean View Elementary school, Norfolk, about the alleged bullying in September went unanswered and so she decided to intervene.

However the recorder was discovered and Ms Sims was later charged with the use of a device to intercept oral communication, which carries a maximum five-year prison sentence, and a misdemeanor contributing to the delinquency of a minor.

“I tried to be fair, but it’s not fair,” she told WAVY. “There is nothing fair about this.

“The thing that bothers me the most is that I am yet to get a response from anyone in the administration.

“If I’m not getting an answer from you what am I left to do?”

Ms Sims said she was “mortified” after being charged by police, adding: “The next thing I know I’m a felon. Felony charges and a misdemeanor when I’m trying to look out for my kid.”

Her solicitor, Kristin Paulding, said the school “aren’t making this about that classroom”, adding: “There are charges that carry jail time.

“Instead of comforting her she’s going to a magistrate and being handcuffed.”

Ocean View Elementary told WAVY it could not comment on an ongoing investigation. The school district said recording devices were banned in elementary schools.

Ms Sims is due in court for a preliminary hearing on January 18.