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Mom says she couldn't prevent son's paddling

Posted at 10:34 AM, Apr 15, 2016
and last updated 2016-04-15 13:12:07-04

Editor's Note: The video of this incident will likely be disturbing for many viewers.

How far is too far when it comes to punishing kids at school? That's the question on many minds after video of a child being paddled went viral. Two clips, posted on Shana Marie Perez's Facebook Page, show the incident--you can hear the boy, age five, crying and pleading with the grownups. He even tries to protect his bottom with his hands.

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As reported by NBC News, a Georgia elementary school principal insisted on the paddling. Perez says the principal told her if she tried to intervene her son would be suspended and she would go to jail.

Shana Marie Perez, of Covington, Ga., posted two videos on Facebook showing the Wednesday dispute at Jasper Primary School, southeast of Atlanta, along with her son's efforts to resist.

"I couldn't do anything to stop them," Perez wrote in a post accompanying one of the videos."

More from NBCNews.com

Since the video and news story started spreading, Perez (via her Facebook Page) reports receiving both supportive messages and tirades from strangers calling her a bad mother. 

Almost half the school districts Georgia state allow the practice of corporal punishment, NBC Atlanta affiliate WXIA reported.