George County student recovering at home from incident

LUCEDALE, Miss. (WALA) - A local special needs student who said he was bullied by another student at school continues to recover at home on Monday, Oct. 22.

On Friday, FOX10 News told you about 14-year-old Austin Stokes a George County High School student who has cerebral palsy and is paralyzed on one side of his body. Stokes said he was involved in a disagreement with another student on Thursday, Oct. 13, at the school in Lucedale, Miss.

Stokes said an older student called him an offensive term.

Stokes said after that, "I threw a coke can at him, and next thing I know, he knocks me off the ground."

Stokes suffered a chipped tooth, cuts, bruises and a swollen eye.

He told FOX10 that bullying is a big problem at his school.

Related: Family says special needs student was attacked

Stokes' mother, Lori Dees, said her son is recovering and did not go to school today. She said a dentist from Ocean Springs, Miss. has volunteered to fix Stokes' teeth for free.

Dees said she is meeting with the District Attorney today to see what else can be done in this case.

School officials could not comment on the case, but Stokes' mother Lori Dees told FOX10 News the alleged bully was charged with simple assault.

District Attorney Anthony Lawrence said his office wants to use this story to help improve the Mississippi laws for disabled residents.

Dees said, "My ultimate goal is to get, if there is not a law that protects people with disabilities, that they will eventually work towards getting stricter laws to protect not only our children, but adults with disabilities."

Stokes' mother said she's also meeting with an attorney to possibly take further legal action in this case.

Dees said Stokes is recovering nicely.The swelling on his eye has gone down, and he may go back to school on Tuesday.

“His spirits are high, all the support that he’s been getting from all over the world actually. I’ve been reading the comments to him, and it has raised his spirits,” said Dees.

Other members of the community said they want to help Stokes as well. A dentist in Ocean Springs caught wind of this story, and he's volunteered to fix Stokes' chipped tooth for free.