Mom speaks out after 5-year-old paddled at Georgia school

MONTICELLO, Ga. -- A 5-year-old was paddled by administrators at his school and his mother said she thought she had no choice but to let it happen.

Thomas faced his punishment on Wednesday at Jasper County Primary School in Georgia for spitting on another student.

The little boy's mother, Shana Perez, recorded video of him screaming and crying while being paddled and posted it on her Facebook page.

The county sheriff said Shana Perez was recently arrested after her son missed 18 days of school. She said they were for doctor's appointments and that she gave permission to administrators for the paddling because she was afraid of going back to jail.

"If he gets suspended, I'm going to be arrested for truancy," she said. "If he misses another day, I'm gonna be arrested. She never denied that. She never told me anything otherwise."

Jasper County schools allow corporal punishment if a parent consents, but Shana now said she shouldn't have.

"To be honest, if I could go back I would have just grabbed him up and said, 'No you can't paddle him, just go ahead and take me to jail,'" she said.

Corporal punishment is legal in Georgia and 18 other states in and near the South. But this video has led to a big outcry on social media.

The school district said it's investigating the incident and looking into its discipline policies.