An Australian mother named Skye Cooper was charged by police for allegedly hiding a recording device in her son's pocket to monitor his experiences at school after he started coming home with unexplained bruises. Cooper’s seven-year-old autistic, non-verbal son, who suffers from epilepsy, reportedly showed signs of distress and behavioral changes when dropped off at the school. The mother secretly recorded her son for five months and claimed she heard verbal abuse and threats towards her child from a teacher's aide. In Victoria, it is illegal to use such devices without consent, leading to Cooper’s recent charge under these laws.
Written locally by qwen2.5:14b on 2026-09-20,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
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An Australian mother who allegedly placed a listening device in her son's pocket after he started coming home with mysterious bruises has been charged by police.
Skye Cooper's seven-year-old son, who is autistic, non-verbal and suffers from epilepsy, was previously enrolled at a primary school in eastern Victoria.
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who → see → Victoria
Last year, Ms Cooper noticed bruises on her son's arm but it was his worsening reaction to being dropped off at school that rang alarm bells.
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that → notice → bells
'When he came home with a couple of bruises, multiple times, we kept an eye on it,' the 36-year-old previously told the Daily Mail.
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old → come → Mail
'While dropping him off at school, he started to become very irate.
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he → drop → school
He did not want to leave the car.
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He → want → car
'He had never shown any aggression or that type of behaviour before attending that school or after attending that school.
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He → show → school
Ms Cooper had heard stories of other worried parents fitting their children with listening devices, so she decided to buy one online.
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she → hear → one
Every morning from June to October 2025, she said she placed the device in his pocket.
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she → say → pocket
After listening back to the recordings, Ms Cooper was stunned by what she heard.
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she → listen → what
Skye Cooper, who allegedly placed a listening device in her son's pocket after he started coming home with mysterious bruises, has been charged by police.
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he → place → police
She is pictured
Ms Cooper's son started coming home with bruises which looked like finger marks (pictured)
She claimed to have heard a teacher's aide, who worked with her son, warning him: 'If you hurt me, I'll hurt you.'
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I → picture → you
'That was said at least three times.
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That → say → ?
I couldn't keep putting him through that and I had enough evidence to pull him out of that school,' Ms Cooper said.
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Cooper → keep → school
'He copped a lot of verbal abuse from the teacher's aide he was working with one-on-one.
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he → cop → one
It got worse, and you could hear him screaming in the recording.
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him → get → recording
It was heartbreaking to listen to.
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It → listen → ?
'I'm trying to protect my child.
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I → try → child
I went to the Victorian Disability Workers Commission to make a formal complaint.'
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I → go → complaint
Ms Cooper said the aide had initially denied using the alleged words, but after the recordings were produced she sent her what Ms Cooper described as a 'p***-poor' letter of apology.
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Cooper → say → apology
In the letter, the aide said she 'cannot specifically recall stating these words' but was 'remorseful such a statement was made'.
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statement → say → words
'I clearly used words that I should not have used,' the aide said in her apology.
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aide → use → apology
Ms Cooper (pictured) said she used a listening device to determine what her son was experiencing at school
The Daily Mail is not suggesting the aide was responsible for the child's bruises.
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aide → picture → bruises
In Victoria, it is a criminal offence to use a listening device to record a private conversation without the consent of others involved.
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it → use → others
Ms Cooper has now been charged with 'regulation of installation, use and maintenance of a listening device' between September and October last year.
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Cooper → charge → September
The shocked mother told the ABC: 'I was trying to protect my child.
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I → tell → child
I just couldn't make sense of it, that… the tables have been turned on me.'
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tables → make → me
Ms Cooper told the Herald Sun she planned to fight the charge, which was scheduled to be heard by the La Trobe Valley Magistrates' Court in February.
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which → tell → February
Why am I the one getting punished?' she said.
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she → punish → ?
Ms Cooper said she has been informed by police that if she pleaded guilty to the charge and donated $300 to a suitable charity, she would not be convicted.
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she → say → charity
Police had originally interviewed Ms Cooper and released her without charge.
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Police → interview → charge
'I thought it was ridiculous,' she told the Daily Mail at the time.
'I still would've done it.
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I → think → it
I think any mother would self-sacrifice to protect their child.'
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mother → think → child
Ms Cooper enrolled her son in another school where she said he had been doing a lot better.
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he → enrol → school
The Daily Mail has contacted Victoria's Department of Education for comment on the charges.
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Mail → contact → charges
In a previous statement, a spokesperson for the department said the safety of students at school was the priority of both the department and educators.
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safety → say → department
'We always urge parents or carers to raise any safety concerns directly with their school so they can be investigated fully,' they said.
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they → urge → school
The Aporia
