JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Only on Action News Jax, we’re hearing from the mother of the student allegedly forced by his JROTC instructor to walk his classmate like a dog.
Former Sandalwood High JROTC instructor Cail Morris was arrested Wednesday and charged with child abuse.
However, Diana, the mother of the student allegedly abused in this incident, says the school district never called her about Morris being arrested.
“I’m upset,” said Diana. “It is outrageous.”
Action News Jax got a copy of Morris’ arrest warrant.
It states that in March, two students got someone’s rank wrong, and Morris told them:
“They are dogs in the doghouse.”
It goes on to say that Morris told the student to:
“Put the belt around her neck like a leash … do tricks like a dog.”
The report also states that this was all captured on video.
Action News Jax’s Madison Foglio spoke with Diana’s son in March, the week the incident happened. We are not identifying him for safety purposes.
“It was cruel, and it was inhumane,” he said. “I felt truly humiliated.”
The arrest warrant also describes another incident during which Morris allegedly asked a student to
“Give *victim* commands like he is a dog in exchange for a soda.”
It goes on to say the student complied until Morris
“Took his hat off and tossed it on the ground…told *victim* to fetch it.”
The report says the victim tried to pick up the hat with their hands, but Morris said:
“No, pick it up like a dog.”
We tried calling Morris; however, we got no answer. We left him a voice message.
We reached out to DCPS Police and DCPS and asked why Diana wasn’t notified of Morris’ arrest.
They provided us with this statement:
Our Duval County School Police have been in contact with the family of the individual identified as the victim in the police report to provide notification of this arrest. Additionally, school leadership followed all appropriate protocols in elevating this matter, including reporting the case to law enforcement, notifying the Department of Children and Families, and contacting the families of the students directly involved.
For your reference, I have attached the statement and family communication we shared in March regarding this matter. What we shared then remains true today. The reported behavior is unacceptable and does not align with the high expectations we hold for our educators or our unwavering commitment to student dignity, safety, and well-being.
After receiving that statement, we called Diana and asked her if she had ever gotten a call from DCPS or DCPS Police since we last spoke with her. She said she had not.
Morris is currently released on bond. According to DCPS, he resigned from his position at Sandalwood High School in March.
>>> STREAM ACTION NEWS JAX LIVE <<<
[DOWNLOAD: Free Action News Jax app for alerts as news breaks]
[SIGN UP: Action News Jax Daily Headlines Newsletter]
Click here to download the free Action News Jax news and weather apps, click here to download the Action News Jax Now app for your smart TV and click here to stream Action News Jax live.