Salem mom charged with assault after alleged bus incident

SALEM, Mass. -- A mother was charged with assault and battery and disorderly conduct after allegedly hitting a 5-year-old girl on a Salem school bus.

Dominique Hans, 36, is accused of boarding a school bus and hitting a girl her son claimed hit him first. Hans says she is not the monster the media has made her out to be. She said she was protecting her son from a bully.

"I'm portrayed like a monster that just go into a bus crazed and determined to hit a child. I would not. This was not the case," Hans said.

Hans’ husband and children, including 6-year-old Dylan, accompanied her to court on Friday. Dylan said he was bullied and his face left scratched and bleeding by a girl who didn’t want him sitting next to her on the bus, according to his parents.

Hans' husband said, "She did not hit that little girl. She just confronted her not to hit our child again."

Hans claims she did not hit anyone.

“I touched her chin and said, ‘Look at Dylan. I do not want you to hit him again. I do not want you to talk with him. It would be best if you didn’t,’” said Hans. “I didn’t hit her. At no point in time did I hit that little girl. She did not have a scratch on her. I did not hit her at all.”

The girl’s mom was in court, but did not comment. Thursday night however, she said her daughter doesn't even know Dylan and that, "she's scared. She doesn't want to take the bus now."

School officials claim the bus driver saw Hans slap the 5-year-old girl's face twice, while screaming at her on the bus she had stormed onto without permission.

Hans said if the bus driver had helped her son in the first place, the incident would have never happened.

"I felt like I needed to protect my son, which she did not do for me. It's not taking matters into my own hands because I did not hit that little girl," Hans said.

School officials said they had been investigating Wednesday's bullying incident before Hans took matters into her own hands.

"I'm not even sure that little girl was the person that even started things off. We've gotten mixed reports that in fact it may be a third student who attends one of the other elementary schools," said Dr. Steve Russell, Salem School Superintendent. "I don't see this behavior as appropriate, it's not something we would condone with our students. And again, I don't see condoning as adults either. It's just not appropriate. It sets a lousy example for kids."

Hans said her son Dylan is sick, and has had eight surgeries since last November, and that he was in pain when he left the school bus.

Hans was released on $1,000 cash bail and was told to stay away from the 5-year-old girl and any children under the age of 12. She is due back in court on March 15.

Officials continue to investigate the matter and said they have placed a bus monitor on the bus to help the children feel safe.

(Copyright (c) 2012 Sunbeam Television Corp. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)