A Florida woman was arrested earlier this month and has been accused of helping her son “commit battery on another child” at a school sports complex.
Per a report from regional outlet WESH, Ashley Ruffin was arrested and taken to the Sheriff Perry Hall Inmate Detention Facility following allegations made by “a female motorist” who had approached a Flagler County Sheriff’s Office resource deputy for Indian Trails Middle School on Sept. 8.
The motorist allegedly told the deputy her son had been jumped by “two male juveniles” at the complex, with the mother of one individual further alleged to have participated in the assault by having “grabbed her son by the hair and arm” while the two children hit him.
The alleged victim later reportedly told the school resource deputy he believes the mother of one of the involved kids grabbed him and held him during the incident. In a press release, the Flagler County Sheriff’s Office alleged that Ruffin’s husband “became irate” when they tried to make contact regarding the allegations. According to the office’s account of what transpired, the husband told authorities his wife would not be allowed to speak with said authorities, nor would his son.
As pointed out by Insider and others in the ensuing days, Ruffin has since shared a video to Facebook in which she denies the allegations and also alleges her son was previously attacked.
“This is such a biased, one-sided story and I’m in so much pain because I would never hurt a child, and I had to spend a night in jail, undeserving, away from my newborn baby and my three boys,” she said in the video. “This is so wrong. So to clear things up, last week my son was attacked by a kid in his school.”
Also mentioned in Ruffin’s Facebook video is footage she says she recently came across in which her son is seen “getting his ass whooped” at school. Ruffin said her husband attempted to have the incident resolved by speaking with school officials, though—according to her account—those talks didn’t lead to action they felt was appropriate.
Booking information from the Flagler County Sheriff’s Office, as viewed by Complex, shows that Ruffin was booked on the evening of Sept. 9. Listed charges include child abuse and battery. The former is a felony, while the latter is a misdemeanor. Additionally, battery charges have also been submitted to the State Attorney’s Office for the other minors alleged to have been involved.
Police claim that multiple witnesses have “confirmed the victim was jumped by the suspected juveniles.” These same witnesses, police allege, also said an “adult female” had grabbed the victim and also “displayed a Taser” during the incident.
Complex has reached out to reps for Indian Trails Middle School and the Flagler County Sheriff’s Office for additional comment and will update this post accordingly.
