"Today I am going to share my families story because for the last 7 months I have been silenced by the people that were supposed to be there to protect my child "

I got permission from Ashlyn Reed to use her name, the facebook link and screenshot.

The school is Arcata Elementary. This is Ashlyn Reed's account in her own words.

https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=10215872400432226&id=1512285327

I have contacted Arcata Police Department and Arcata Elementary.

Full text:

"Today I am going to share my families story because for the last 7 months I have been silenced by the people that were supposed to be there to protect my child I am not looking for attention or for sympathy I have made the decision to share my story in hopes that everyone in our community and other communities will share their stories.

The longer we keep sexual abuse and bullying silent the longer we allow it to go on and allow our kids to suffer. It’s time for a major change. Living in a time where mental health is rapidly deteriorating we need to be the voice for our children.

As most people know my husband is Military and we are stationed in Eureka Ca. My loving happy beautiful child started first grade at a school here in 2016. After a few months of him coming home talking about very inappropriate topics specifically sexual topics I began to be concerned and brought this to his teachers attention and I was told conversations would be monitored more regularly.

My son began to rapidly deteriorate, not wanting to go to school becoming very emotional having excessive emotional outbursts and was no longer the happy lively child he had always been. He began to fall behind in school and after several failed attempts to get him to talk to me about what was going on, August 1st 2017 happened.

The day my world was shattered and my worst fear became a reality. My son broke down into tears barley able to speak confided in me that a group of boys were locking him in bathroom stalls and pinning him behind trees in the field and forcing him to do horrible things

I will spare graphic details as they are very upsetting and very disturbing. This had gone on for months and when he threatened to tell the teachers he was bullied and threatened with physical violence.

I immediately pulled him from the school and the superintendent refused to take my calls or meet with me in person instead she sent me an email almost a month later basically stating that she had a meeting with these boys and they admitted to talking about doing these things but not actually doing them and as far as she was concerned unless I could provide proof the entire situation did not happen.


The Police department also denied my right to have him medically examined or interviewed saying they would not be involved due to the children’s ages even though I was not looking to press charges on minors I was wanting an interview to be done and to find out why in the world this was happening on a school campus. Where was the supervision?

I consulted an attorney who could not help me in court due to the police departments lack of cooperation.

My son was placed in intense therapy where he has been diagnosed with severe PTSD and sever anxiety. He is still falling behind at his new school for the first several weeks he was terrified to use the restroom and is placed in several programs at his school just to help him get through the day.

Every outlet I have gone to in my community to get help with this matter has shut me down and attempted to silence me in fear of me making them look bad. I am done being silenced and I will share my painful story until I’m blue in the face if that means I’m even helping just one child not have to endure such a trauma.

This event has turned my sons and mine Life upside down every day is a struggle as we try to navigate a brighter future for him. It’s time this stops. Be loud share your stories.

 The bullying in our schools is at an all time high and I refuse to let this be a new reality I will fight for my son until my last day on this earth. I hope by sharing our story I can make a difference somewhere.

I will continue fighting with local law enforcement and the school system I will write every local newspaper and tell anyone who will listen until I start to be taken seriously. Our children are the future and I will be dammed if one more person tries to slam a door in my face. Enough is enough."