Autistic boy, 12, in tears after getting bullied every day for three months as mum forced to pull him out of school
A 12-YEAR-OLD autistic boy who was bullied every day for three months has been pulled out of school by his heartbroken mum.
Harrison Fernandez missed classes after being beaten by a group of kids at Colchester Academy in Essex.
He was picked on during his first day with students saying he “walked gay, talked gay and looked gay”, according to his mum.
By day two, things allegedly turned physical, with students knocking and pushing him around.
This quickly escalated over the following weeks, leaving him with a bruised and swollen face, ripped clothes and bloodied knees.
His mum Leanne, 34, said he would come home crying and because of his autism it led to him self-harming where he couldn't understand why he was being bullied.
BULLIED BOY
She says that four incidents were so severe that she had to get police involved.
It was on the fourth occasion that she called the police on November 21 that she decided he was “no longer safe to go into school” and pulled him out.
Leanne said: "It all started off verbally with them saying he was gay, he walked gay, he looked gay, he talked gay.
"But on the second day, it escalated to physical. They tried 'peanut-ing' the tie and it came off and they started pushing him and it continued out of school.
"He has had orange juice poured down the back of his neck, food taken away from him, had three of them pushing him at one time."
It all started off verbally with them saying he was gay, he walked gay, he looked gay, he talked gay.
Leanne Fernandez
She explained that every single day, Harrison would come home upset, hurt by something else that had happened.
There is a group of boys which Leanne claims regularly targeted her son on a daily basis, including waiting to catch him in between classes and "punch him in the groin".
Leanne, who works as a child minder, added: "One child threatened him when he saw him and said 'we are looking for you and said 'we are going to stamp on your skull'.
“That's not a normal thing for a 12-year-old to say.
"It is really upsetting for him. He had just started school and he is asking 'why they have they got a problem with me?'
IN TEARS
"When you go in to school every single day and a number of them are going up to him between classes punching him in the groin. It's awful.
"He would come home and cry and say it's too much to handle. He just wants to go to school. He's been beaten to a pulp."
A spokesperson for Essex Police said: "We received a number of reports reporting a boy had been assaulted.
"We carried out enquiries and spoke to parties involved. Words of advice have been given.
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"The victim’s family decided they did not wish to go ahead with criminal proceedings and it was decided the investigation could not progress without the support of the victim so it has been filed."
Since he came out of the school on November 21, Leanne has fought for him to get into another school.
The Sun Online has contacted Colchester Academy for comment.
