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Mason Co. Family Suing Principal For Alleged Abuse
By: WOUB Staff Writer
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A principal in Mason County is accused of abusing an 11-year-old student on a school bus, and it was caught on camera.
However, the principal's supporters say the video only tells one side of the story.
Point Pleasant Intermediate Principal Cameron Moffett was arrested earlier this month and charged with felony child abuse.
The student's family is now suing Moffett and the Mason County Board of Education.
On March 21, security cameras on a bus recorded Moffett pulling student Zachary Plants from his seat and rolling him down the bus stairs.
The criminal complaint says once outside the bus, Moffett held Plants to the pavement with his knee to his back.
Mason County Superintendent Suzanne Dickens had no comment, but in an email to county principals, she said she'd reviewed the footage and did not consider Moffett's actions to be child abuse, and she was supporting Moffett.
Those who support the principal say the video first shows the boy causing problems on the bus, with teachers repeatedly telling him to sit down, and he refuses to listen, and they called the principal on board for help.
Plants' family lawyer Mike Clifford says the boy has special needs and was being bullied by other students before Moffett arrived, and there was no excuse for the principal's actions.