The mother of an Indian Hill Elementary School student who filed a federal lawsuit alleging that her son was racially harassed and beaten by a handful of students was barred from school property hours after a meeting that led the school’s principal to call police, according to public records obtained by The Enquirer.
Police reports say the directive prohibiting Eden Castleberry from being on any school property without prior authorization was the result of “multiple incidents” during which she acted “in an aggressive and inappropriate manner” toward staff.
But Castleberry’s attorney said the police reports are not accurate.
“Eden has no history of aggressive behavior with the district or law enforcement and has never even received a warning,” her attorney, Robert Thompson, said in an emailed response to questions.
“Any suggestion that her presence that morning was an ‘in person confrontation’ that justified banning her from school property misstates her conduct and the context,” Thompson said. “We are concerned that the school district’s response was not driven by any aggressive behavior by Eden, but rather is consistent with retaliation after she raised safety concerns and advocated for her son and other children.”
Castelberry’s lawsuit, filed Nov. 19 against the district, Indian Hill Football Club and numerous school staff, says that her son, Will J, was racially harassed, ambushed after a football practice and then, on Oct. 28, attacked, called racial slurs and injured by several students on a school playground.
Mother wanted charges filed after attack on son
Two days after the playground incident, Castleberry went to the school. Thompson said that a social worker and others at Cincinnati Children’s, where Will J was treated for a concussion, bruised ribs and wrists, among other injuries, told Castleberry “that she needed to go to the school in order to press charges regarding the attack on her son.”
The police reports, which The Enquirer obtained through a public records request, indicate that the school’s principal, Whitney Buell, called police about “an upset parent” the morning of Oct. 30 after Castleberry went to the school.
Sometime after 9 a.m. that day, Indian Hill officers were directed to a conference room where Castleberry was talking to the district’s chief human resources officer.
Indian Hill Officer Ryan Camardo told Castleberry, according to the reports, “We (will) not be arresting 9-year-olds” because they were too young.
Castleberry “disagreed,” according to the reports, and said her attorney had told her charges should be filed.
Camardo then contacted the assistant prosecutor at the Hamilton County Prosecutor’s Office who heads the juvenile division. According to the reports, Assistant Prosecutor Linda Scott said children that young cannot have criminal intent “and confirmed that the children involved would not be charged.”
The reports say a school district official told Castleberry that the school “imposed appropriate disciplinary action” against the students involved.
But according to Thompson, Castleberry arrived at the school around 8:30 a.m., and she asked police to be present “because her sole purpose was to file the report and then leave.”
“Her goal was to seek appropriate accountability for what happened to her child, not to create a confrontation,” Thompson said.
Texts obtained through a public records request show that Buell filed an internal report about Castleberry’s Oct. 30 visit to the school. In the text exchange with an unnamed person, Buell said she would not get “into the weeds of the fight” involving Will J in the report.
Buell, who is listed as a defendant in the federal lawsuit, also said none of the kids the district identified as being involved in the attack would be named in the report she made Oct. 30.
That same day, Castleberry was formally barred from all Indian Hill schools at the request of Superintendent Kirk Koennecke. She is only permitted on school property for drop off and pick up or with prior authorization.
The timing of the directive froze Castleberry’s ability to advocate for her 9-year-old son because of the severity of injuries he got in the October attack, the lawsuit says.
Lawsuit: Attack was culmination of months of harassment
Castleberry said the playground attack was the culmination of more than a year of racially charged harassment against Will J, who is of mixed race.
It began in the fall of 2024. Three white students, two of whom were the sons of coaches of Will J’s club football team, repeatedly called him “monkey,” according to the lawsuit.
Then a year later, on Sept. 18, 2025, two of Will J’s football teammates, who are white, “ambushed” him after football practice, the lawsuit says. One charged at him and slammed him to the ground; the other grabbed his head and repeatedly slammed it into the ground, then began choking him while he was pinned down.
Among the claims is that Buell told Castleberry that the school wasn’t responsible because the attack happened after practice for a club team not affiliated with the school. The lawsuit also alleges that the club team’s coach didn’t take appropriate action.
Mother hosts ‘Protect Your Kids’ protest after alleged racial harassment, beating
After the Sept. 18 incident, Castleberry advertised a “Protect Your Kids” protest at a fourth grade football game at Indian Hill High School. According to screenshots of emails and a Facebook post obtained through a public records request, Castleberry said she hoped to expose the district and the football club’s efforts to minimize the the incident at practice.
“This message is to every parent out there. Please protect (your) sons especially at practices. The schools and the clubs should do our children better,” Castleberry said in an email obtained through a public records request.
Thompson said Castleberry organized the protest because she had become extremely concerned about student safety in the district “and what she perceived as an inadequate response to serious issues affecting children.
“The purpose was to raise awareness and to advocate for better protection of students,” he said. “It was focused on safety and accountability for children, not on personal attacks against staff.”
Castleberry has been active in the district as a parent, serving as a chaperone on class trips and coaching recreational basketball, according to Thompson. She also runs a youth basketball program.
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Mom barred from Indian Hill schools for behavior after son attacked
Reporting by Grace Tucker and Kevin Grasha, Cincinnati Enquirer / Cincinnati Enquirer
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
