HARMONY, Fla. – Prosecutors will not pursue charges against a 14-year-old who was among 11 students arrested after a widely circulated video showed a student being beaten outside Harmony High School, according to the State Attorney’s Office.
Matthew Mapes’ family says he had no role in the October 16 incident and was not even at the scene. The teen spent 15 days in juvenile detention and was expelled from school, they said.
The Osceola County Sheriff’s Office said Mapes was arrested after witnesses identified him in connection with the fight.
His family disputes that explanation, saying photographs and cellphone location data indicate he was somewhere else when the assault occurred.
Body camera footage obtained by News 6 shows deputies entering a classroom at the school on October 21, several days after the beating. In the video, officers approach Mapes and tell him they are investigating a fight, while he appears confused.
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“I guess there was an incident that happened, I don’t know I wasn’t here,” one deputy says.
“When?” Mapes asks.
“You tell me I wasn’t there,” the deputy responds.
“What incident?” Mapes says, appearing puzzled.
The footage then shows deputies placing Mapes in handcuffs and escorting him from the school.
In another body camera video provided to News 6, a deputy calls Mapes’ father from a patrol vehicle to inform him that his son has been arrested.
“For what?” Richard Mapes asks.
“Him and eight others were involved in an aggravated battery against one kid on the 16th,” the deputy says.
Richard Mapes later challenges the accusation during the call.
“That’s out of character for him whatsoever, he’s never been in trouble like that whatsoever,” he says. “So I find that hard to believe.”
According to the sheriff’s office, a student identified Matthew Mapes as the second person to throw a punch. His family maintains that Mapes was never in the area shown in the video and was wearing different clothes from the person seen in the footage.
“I was thinking that everything would go away, I would go back to my life, be with my parents, stay at home,” Matthew Mapes said. “Because I had no right to be in that place, being arrested, going through that at all.”
His mother, Reing Mapes, said the arrest was heartbreaking for the entire family.
“I had not raised my kid to do the bad thing,” she said. “If my kid do bad thing, that’s my fault. My fault and my husband’s fault. My son not do that. I believe my son didn’t do that. It broke our heart.”
After Mapes spent 15 days in juvenile detention, the office of State Attorney Monique Worrell filed paperwork formally dismissing the charges. Worrell’s office oversees the Ninth Judicial Circuit, which includes Orange and Osceola counties.
The “nolle prosequi” document was signed November 5, according to records obtained by News 6.
A sheriff’s office spokesperson said the arrest was based on witness accounts, but the State Attorney’s Office ultimately determined that the evidence was insufficient to move forward with the case.
The Osceola County Sheriff’s Office said the 10 other criminal cases involving Harmony High students remain active.
Richard Mapes said his family’s experience should prompt other parents to take precautions.
“If something happens on the campus or close to the campus like this did and someone points the finger, your child is going to be arrested and put in juvie,” he said.
“So I would suggest taking pictures of your kid every day,” he added, becoming emotional. “Because — sorry — if you think it’s not gonna happen you know, you don’t think ‘Hey my son is going to get arrested today.’”
Osceola County Schools told News 6 that privacy laws prevent the district from discussing individual students.
Matthew Mapes’ father said the district has not told him when, or whether, his son may return to school. He is also asking officials to excuse the absences resulting from the case.
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