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An Australian mother who allegedly placed a listening device in her son's pocket after he started coming home with mysterious bruises has been charged by police.
Skye Cooper's seven-year-old son, who is autistic, non-verbal and suffers from epilepsy, was previously enrolled at a primary school in eastern Victoria.
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who → see → Victoria
Last year, Ms Cooper noticed bruises on her son's arm but it was his worsening reaction to being dropped off at school that rang alarm bells.
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that → notice → bells
'When he came home with a couple of bruises, multiple times, we kept an eye on it,' the 36-year-old previously told the Daily Mail.
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old → come → Mail
'While dropping him off at school, he started to become very irate.
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he → drop → school
He did not want to leave the car.
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He → want → car
'He had never shown any aggression or that type of behaviour before attending that school or after attending that school.
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He → show → school
Ms Cooper had heard stories of other worried parents fitting their children with listening devices, so she decided to buy one online.
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she → hear → one
Every morning from June to October 2025, she said she placed the device in his pocket.
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she → say → pocket
After listening back to the recordings, Ms Cooper was stunned by what she heard.
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she → listen → what
Skye Cooper, who allegedly placed a listening device in her son's pocket after he started coming home with mysterious bruises, has been charged by police.
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he → place → police
She is pictured
Ms Cooper's son started coming home with bruises which looked like finger marks (pictured)
She claimed to have heard a teacher's aide, who worked with her son, warning him: 'If you hurt me, I'll hurt you.'
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I → picture → you
'That was said at least three times.
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That → say → ?
I couldn't keep putting him through that and I had enough evidence to pull him out of that school,' Ms Cooper said.
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Cooper → keep → school
'He copped a lot of verbal abuse from the teacher's aide he was working with one-on-one.
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he → cop → one
It got worse, and you could hear him screaming in the recording.
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him → get → recording
It was heartbreaking to listen to.
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It → listen → ?
'I'm trying to protect my child.
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I → try → child
I went to the Victorian Disability Workers Commission to make a formal complaint.'
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I → go → complaint
Ms Cooper said the aide had initially denied using the alleged words, but after the recordings were produced she sent her what Ms Cooper described as a 'p***-poor' letter of apology.
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Cooper → say → apology
In the letter, the aide said she 'cannot specifically recall stating these words' but was 'remorseful such a statement was made'.
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statement → say → words
'I clearly used words that I should not have used,' the aide said in her apology.
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aide → use → apology
Ms Cooper (pictured) said she used a listening device to determine what her son was experiencing at school
The Daily Mail is not suggesting the aide was responsible for the child's bruises.
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aide → picture → bruises
In Victoria, it is a criminal offence to use a listening device to record a private conversation without the consent of others involved.
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it → use → others
Ms Cooper has now been charged with 'regulation of installation, use and maintenance of a listening device' between September and October last year.
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Cooper → charge → September
The shocked mother told the ABC: 'I was trying to protect my child.
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I → tell → child
I just couldn't make sense of it, that… the tables have been turned on me.'
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tables → make → me
Ms Cooper told the Herald Sun she planned to fight the charge, which was scheduled to be heard by the La Trobe Valley Magistrates' Court in February.
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which → tell → February
Why am I the one getting punished?' she said.
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she → punish → ?
Ms Cooper said she has been informed by police that if she pleaded guilty to the charge and donated $300 to a suitable charity, she would not be convicted.
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she → say → charity
Police had originally interviewed Ms Cooper and released her without charge.
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Police → interview → charge
'I thought it was ridiculous,' she told the Daily Mail at the time.
'I still would've done it.
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I → think → it
I think any mother would self-sacrifice to protect their child.'
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mother → think → child
Ms Cooper enrolled her son in another school where she said he had been doing a lot better.
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he → enrol → school
The Daily Mail has contacted Victoria's Department of Education for comment on the charges.
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Mail → contact → charges
In a previous statement, a spokesperson for the department said the safety of students at school was the priority of both the department and educators.
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safety → say → department
'We always urge parents or carers to raise any safety concerns directly with their school so they can be investigated fully,' they said.
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they → urge → school
The Aporia
