First Grader Mark Curran Kicks Bully in Testicles, Will Attend Sexual Harassment Hearing Monday

Mark Curran, a first grader at Tynan Elementary School in South Boston, will attend a disciplinary hearing Monday after the school's principal accused him of sexual harassment. Curran reportedly kicked another boy in the crotch who he says was attacking him.

He just all of a sudden came up to him, choked him, said the victim's mother, Tasha Lynch. He wanted to take his gloves, and my son said, 'I couldn't breathe, so I kicked him in the testicles.'

The Mohawked seven year-old boy said that on Nov. 22, he was riding home on the bus from school when he was approached by another boy, who choked him and tried to take his gloves. He said kicked the bully in self-defense.

Lynch said her son was ready to burst into tears when she met him getting off at the bus stop. After Mark told her what happened, Lynch angrily approached the bus driver and demanded an explanation of what he saw.

He just smiled and shrugged, she said.

Lynch reportedly tried to call school officials, but after a number of futile efforts, she told her older son to make contact with the school's interim principal, Leslie Gant, and bring his little brother Mark with him.

I just thought they were going to call the parents, tell us both to come in and make the boys shake hands, Lynch said.

Instead, school officials held mark in the office and began to question him, which reportedly rattled Mark even further. Under pressure, Mark told the officials he started the fight.

They didn't believe me, Mark said. I didn't get my gloves back.

Later that day, Gant called to say she had called the state's Department of Children and Families to report the incident.

She said, 'It doesn't matter who hit who first, Lynch said. 'He said he hit him in the testicles. That's assault. That's sexual assault.'

'I said, 'The kid choked my son first, and that's called attempted murder. He said he couldn't breathe.

Mark's older brother returned home from school that day with an official letter from the principal, which accused Mark of violating disciplinary codes related to sexual harassment and endangering the safety of another student.

The hearing scheduled for Monday could call on Gant or Eileen Morales, the school principal on leave, to act as the hearing officer. Several witnesses will be called, including both the victim and the perpetrator, though one school official says they would not likely share a room together.

Tynan Elementary could potentially suspend Mark or transfer him to another school, according to the letter.

Lynch is seeking a lawyer or an advocate for her son to defend his case at the hearing.

He said he felt totally alone, Lynch said. Nobody believed him. Nobody was there for him.

We'll update with news on the hearing later in the day Monday.