An Elyria mother who pepper sprayed the principal at Hamilton Elementary School last year amid allegations her child had been bullied on the bus pleaded guilty Tuesday to felony assault.
According to the Lorain County Court of Commons Pleas, the mother, Jessica Houze, pleaded guilty to two counts of assault, both fifth-degree felonies. A criminal trespass charge, which was a fourth-degree misdemeanor, was dismissed.
School officials state that in April 2023, the principal was greeting students in the hallways when he noticed Houze arguing and yelling obscenities at the school’s assistant principal and another administrator. During the confrontation, the principal attempted to close the doors when Houze sprayed him in the face with the mace she had on her key ring.
News 5 later spoke to Houze, who said she didn't regret the incident because her son had been bullied while riding the bus and at the school.
She told us that she was upset about it since the school didn't inform her about the incidents involving her son.
The school said that the incidents of bullying had not been brought to the principal before the day of the altercation. Still, Houze said she had called the school numerous times asking about the bullying and trying to get her son moved to a different bus.
The school said that Houze was attempting to enter the school through a non-authorized door. The mother said she saw the principal and approached him for answers.
Houze pulled her pepper spray when things began to escalate and sprayed it at the principal. Houze said she apologized for her actions being done in front of children, but she doesn't regret the incident.
Houze will be sentenced on March 25, according to court records.
RELATED: Elyria mom speaks out after spraying mace at principal over bullying incidents
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