A Gippsland mother has been charged by police after allegedly sewing a recording device into her non-verbal son's clothing.
uncertain
mother → charge → clothing
Skye Cooper says she had become worried for his safety after he started refusing to go to school.
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he → say → school
Ms Cooper is deciding whether she will fight the charges.
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she → decide → charges
A Gippsland mother has been charged by police after allegedly sewing a recording device into her non-verbal son's clothing after he began refusing to go to school.
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he → charge → school
Skye Cooper says her seven-year-old son came home from school one day last year with what looked like bruises.
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what → say → bruises
He had been attending Churchill Primary School in the state's east since February 2025, but it was only around a month into his time there when he began acting distressed during the morning school run.
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he → attend → run
"He would not get out of the car.
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He → get → car
He started screaming, he started begging for me," Ms Cooper said.
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Cooper → start → me
"He just got more and more emotionally distressed… [and] would not be left in a room with anyone other than me.
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He → get → me
He was traumatised.
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He → traumatise → ?
Her son has severe epilepsy, autism level three, global development delay and severe language delay.
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son → have → epilepsy
Ms Cooper said she had multiple meetings with the school to express her concerns about her son's experience but didn't feel that her concerns were being addressed.
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concerns → say → experience
Worried, Ms Cooper approached a disability advocate for advice and was advised to sew a recording device into his clothes.
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Cooper → approach → clothes
Each night, she listened back to the audio — until she heard an aide telling her son "you hurt me, I'll hurt you".
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I → listen → you
"Once I heard her on the recording threatening him, saying that she'll hurt him … I ended up pulling him out [of the school]," Ms Cooper said.
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Cooper → hear → school
Charges laid over recording device
The alleged use of a recording device was reported to police and Ms Cooper has since been charged with Regulation of Installation, Use and Maintenance of a Listening Device.
She said she is shocked by the turn of events.
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she → lay → events
"I was trying to protect my child," she said.
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she → try → child
"I just couldn't make sense of it, that … the tables have been turned on me."
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tables → make → me
She said she's been told by police that if she admits to the charges and makes a donation of $300 to a suitable charity, she won't have a criminal record.
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she → say → record
Ms Cooper is receiving legal advice over her next steps.
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Cooper → receive → steps
She has also started a petition calling for the aide's removal and for the Education Minister to push for change in the Surveillance Devices Act to protect parents who use covert recording devices in suspected cases of abuse.
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who → start → abuse
Earlier this year Ms Cooper received a formal written apology from the aide, which said she did "not specifically recall the exchange" but was "extremely remorseful that such a statement was made".
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statement → receive → exchange
"I take full responsibility for the language used and am using this as an opportunity to reflect on my communication style under stress," the letter said.
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letter → take → stress
"I clearly used words that I should not have used.
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I → use → that
While they would not have been intended as a threat or a literal statement, I recognise that language expressed that way is inappropriate.
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language → intend → threat
"
Recording device 'only recourse you've got'
Julie Phillips is the disability advocate who has been assisting Ms Cooper and who recommended placing a recording device in the child's clothes.
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who → get → clothes
She said she would still recommend it to others, while also warning of the possible consequences.
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she → say → consequences
"But if there's no other way of finding out, what else can you do?"Ms Phillips said.
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Phillips → be → what
She said Ms Cooper's descriptions of her son's behaviour during his time at the school immediately raised red flags.
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descriptions → say → flags
"One of the common issues with kids who can't use speech to communicate is when their behaviour deteriorates and there is bruising, usually something is going on that's traumatic for them," she said.
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she → use → them
"Obviously it shouldn't be that [using a recording device] is the only recourse you've got, but with non-verbal people it is the only recourse you've got.
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you → use → people
"The consequences have been experienced by a mother whose number one priority is the safety of her child, who can't communicate with her.
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who → experience → her
If that's not completely backwards, I don't know what is."
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what → know → ?
Ms Phillips said abuse of children with disabilities in schools is extensive.
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abuse → say → schools
"When you take away any options that parents have to find out what is going on at school, your children are in a very dangerous position," she said.
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she → take → position
She believes Ms Cooper's use of a listening device was justified and could even be legally defended if it can be proven that there was a threat to assault her son.
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it → believe → son
Ms Cooper said the Disability Workers Commission is investigating the issue.
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Commission → say → issue
The Aporia
