North Carolina Boy Strip-Searched over Twenty Dollars

A 10-year old boy, Justin Cox, who is a student at Union Elementary School in Clinton, North Carolina was strip-searched after being accused of stealing $20 from another student.  He was ordered to strip down to his boxers and t-shirt.

According to Justin's mother, he told her after it happened that the girl had dropped the money and he simply reached down to help her pick it up from the ground to give it back to her.

Justin's mother was infuriated by the incident, which she did not find out about until after he came home from school that day.  No one contacted her during the day -- before, during, or right after it happened.  She said that if she felt he needed to be searched, she would've searched her son herself, in the bathroom, with a witness present.

The Fourth Amendment protects all people from unreasonable searches and seizures.

The assistant principal at Union Elementary, Teresa Holmes, was the one who strip-searched the boy, and said in a statement that two teachers and several students told her they saw Justin dive under the table for the missing $20.

Justin told Holmes many times that he did not have the money, and to "search him."

After strip-searching Justin, Holmes did not find the money.  She apologized to him afterwards.

The money was later found on the ground; a teacher had said it had not been there previously (before the search).

Sampson County Schools spokeswoman, talked about the event, and stated that Holmes was within her legal authority to conduct the search; however, she "may have been overzealous in her actions."

Justin's mother believes that the search was extremely inappropriate.  She said in a statement, "[Holmes] came up to him and rubbed her fingers around inside of the underwear.  If that isn't intrusive, I don't know what is."