Florida Mother Defends 11-Year-Old Daughter After School Beating Video Sparks Felony Charge

An 11-year-old girl in Miami Beach is facing a second-degree felony aggravated battery charge after a violent confrontation with a classmate inside Nautilus Middle School was captured on cellphone video. Now, the accused girl’s mother is speaking out, claiming her daughter had been bullied before the incident and asking the court to consider what happened behind the scenes.

The altercation took place on September 24 in the school cafeteria. According to a Miami-Dade Schools Police report cited by NBC 6, the accused student approached another 11-year-old girl, grabbed her by the hair and pulled her to the floor before repeatedly punching and kicking her.

The video shows the attack continuing while other students watched. School staff intervened about 25 seconds later and separated the girls.

The injured student’s mother, Michelle Santos, said her daughter was struck more than 40 times and suffered a concussion, bruises and cuts to her scalp. She has also said her daughter has been too frightened to return to school since the incident.

The case was initially referred for misdemeanor battery through a juvenile diversion program. Prosecutors later filed the felony aggravated battery charge after the victim’s mother requested prosecution and authorities considered the extent of the injuries.

The accused girl’s mother, Alba Castillo, has acknowledged that her daughter’s actions were wrong but insists there was a longer-running conflict between the students. Castillo claims she had contacted school officials seeking help over alleged bullying weeks before the fight.

“She’s not a criminal, she’s a child,” Castillo told Local 10, asking authorities to look beyond the video and examine what led to the confrontation.

She also said she did not condone the attack but believed the situation could have been prevented if the school had addressed the conflict earlier.

School officials have said staff members met with the students before the incident in an effort to de-escalate tensions. The district said administrators and school police responded when the altercation occurred and that the matter was handled under the student conduct code and referred to law enforcement.

At a juvenile court appearance on October 29, a judge ordered the accused girl to have no contact with the injured student. The girl has since left Nautilus Middle School, and another hearing is scheduled for December 21.

The two families continue to offer sharply different accounts of the events leading up to the fight. While the victim’s family is seeking accountability and answers about school safety, the accused girl’s mother wants the court to consider her daughter’s allegations of bullying.

The case remains in the juvenile court system, and the charge has not yet been resolved.