When Damon Simmons and three other classmates followed an autistic kid into a toilet at Iroquois High School in Louisville, he had no idea what was going on. Within seconds, three kids encircled the child, while a fourth stood guard just outside the entrance. What happened next is unlike anything the school has ever seen.
The world is full of problems and challenges for parents of special needs children that come simply from the disability at hand. However, no one anticipates such a defenseless human person to be the victim of a brutal attack, particularly by students from their own school. One of the teens tossed the victim’s phone down, and the others started beating the victims with their fists and feet until he was knocked unconscious.
According to court papers, the 17-year-old autistic child sustained significant injuries, including a shattered jaw and multiple loose teeth. The youngster was then left unconscious in a pool of blood until he was discovered by a 17-year-old buddy who was not engaged in the attack. The victim was subsequently taken by EMS to Kosair Children’s Hospital, where he had lower jaw surgery.
At least one of the four suspects in the boy’s terrible incident has been captured and prosecuted. Damon Simmons, 18, and three accomplices, according to court filings, jumped the youngster in the restroom before leaving him with critical wounds.
Simmons was detained and charged with assault in the second degree and criminal mischief in the second degree. He has pled not guilty to his charges and is being detained on a $25,000 bail by the Louisville Metro Department of Corrections. The other three defendants face felony charges, involving second-degree assault, first-degree wanton endangerment, and first-degree illegal confinement, according to a spokeswoman for the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office.
While he was still healing, the victim informed authorities that he didn’t know his assailants and had no clue why they would want to hurt him. The boy’s sister noted that her brother has autism and would have been especially vulnerable to such an assault even if he wasn’t outnumbered.
According to the victim’s mom, her son is a senior at the school and does everything he’s meant to do. She acknowledged that he is not doing well, psychologically or physically, and that he is still healing from the assault.
There is no evidence that the victim incited his assailants’ rage or that they knew one other. Surprisingly, the attack looks to be a random act of violence until authorities discover a purpose.
It’s horrifying to think that a bunch of teenagers could inflict such violence and misery on a peer who doesn’t even have the same mental faculties as them. In a society when parents already have to be worried about their special needs children, such a senseless attack simply adds to their concerns.
