One Of The Teens Arrested For Allegedly Bullying A Girl To Death May Have Learned Her Behavior From Her Mom

The mother of one of the girls accused of bullying a classmate so viciously that she committed suicide was arrested yesterday for child abuse. The 30-year-old woman was caught punching two fighting 12-year-olds in a video that appeared on Facebook.

Vivian Lee Vosburg is the mother of one of two girls that was charged with third-degree felony stalking after classmate Rebecca Sedwick jumped to her death from a third-story cement plant structure in central Florida. Sedwick was allegedly ruthlessly bullied by as many as 15 classmates.

From NBC News:

According to the sheriff’s affidavit, deputies acting on several tips identified Vosburg on a video posted to Facebook showing a woman punching and screaming profanities at two 12-year-old boys who had been fighting.

Four other children are seen in the video, which was posted in July by one of the children, investigators said. The sheriff’s office said Vosburg has “access” to all six children.

If this is the kind of behavior that is normal in the household, is it any wonder that her 12-year-old daughter has turned into a bully? I wondered why the parents of these two girls seemed so nonchalant about the horrific acts their daughters committed. Both girls still had access to social media after Rebecca’s suicide and both sets of parents refused to turn their children into police custody.

I think it’s crazy and awful for any mother to physically abuse a child – but the crazy and awful gets turned up a notch when the children aren’t even hers. This woman is obviously a horrific example to her child.

After the bullying arrest, Vosburg’s 12-year-old daughter was released back into her custody “due to her remorse and cooperation.” After her own arrest, Vosburg admitted she should not have hit the children:

According to the affidavit, Vosburg told investigators Thursday that she was the woman in the video and acknowledged punching one of the boys in the face and the other in the back of the head and shoulders. She said she knew she shouldn’t have hit them, according to the affidavit.

Sheriff Grady Judd said the was still on Facebook as recently as Friday morning.

Of Vosburg’s daughter, he said: “The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.”

(photo: Polk County Sheriff’s Office)