When Skye's little boy started coming home with bruises she decided to put a listening device in his pocket. She was shocked by what she heard - but now SHE's under police investigation

By MATT JONES, SENIOR NEWS REPORTER, AUSTRALIA Published: 02:48, 14 May 2026 | Updated: 02:48, 14 May 2026 An Aussie mum who placed a listening device in her son's pocket after he started coming home with mysterious bruises is now being investigated by police. Skye Cooper's son, who is autistic, non-verbal and suffers from epilepsy, was previously enrolled at a primary school in eastern Victoria.  About a year ago, Ms Cooper noticed bruises on her son's arm. But it was his worsening reaction to being dropped off at school that sparked alarm bells. 'When he came home with a couple of bruises, multiple times, we kept an eye on it,' the 36-year-old told the Daily Mail on Thursday.  'While dropping him off at school, he started to become very irate. He did not want to leave the car. He was very verbal about that for a non-verbal child.  'He had never shown any aggression or that type of behaviour before attending that school or after attending that school.' Ms Cooper had heard stories of other worried parents fitting their children with listening devices, so she decided to buy one online.  Every morning from June to October 2025, she would place the device in his pocket. After listening back to the recordings, she was stunned by what she heard. Skye Cooper went to great lengths to find out what her son was experiencing at school She claimed to have heard a teacher's aide, who worked with her son, warning him: 'If you hurt me, I'll hurt you'.  'That was said at least three times. I couldn't keep putting him through that and I had enough evidence to pull him out of that school,' Ms Cooper alleged.  'He copped a lot of verbal abuse from the teacher's aide he was working with one-on-one, and school staff and the children.  'It got worse, and you could hear him screaming in the recording. He was quite distraught. It was heartbreaking to listen to.  I'm trying to protect my child. I went to the Victorian Disability Workers Commission to make a formal complaint. 'During that time, the aide had denied it because they were unaware of the recordings. It was only after the recordings were produced that they sent me that piss-poor apology (letter).' In the letter, the aide said she 'cannot specifically recall stating these words' but was 'remorseful such a statement was made'. 'I clearly used words that I should not have used,' the aide said in her apology. Ms Cooper's son started coming home with bruises which looked like finger marks (pictured) The Daily Mail is not suggesting the aide was responsible for the child's bruises. Ms Cooper has since enrolled her son in another school where she said he's been doing a lot better.  But the Aussie mum has a new fight on her hands – with Victoria Police.  In Victoria, it is a criminal offence to use a listening device to record a private conversation without the consent of others involved. Ms Cooper was questioned by police, but ultimately released.   'I thought it was ridiculous,' she said.  She told the Daily Mail she didn't regret her actions despite the police intervention. 'I still would've done it,' she said.  'I think any mother would self-sacrifice to protect their child.' In a statement, the Department of Education said the safety of students at school is the priority of both the department and educators.  'We always urge parents or carers to raise any safety concerns directly with their school so they can be investigated fully,' a spokesperson said.  Victoria Police said in a statement: 'Police interviewed a woman as part of an investigation into a report of a listening device at a school in [location] between July and October 2025.' 'A 36-year-old woman was released pending further enquiries. The investigation remains ongoing, and we are unable to provide further details at this stage.' The Daily Mail has contacted the school for comment. No comments have so far been submitted. Why not be the first to send us your thoughts, or debate this issue live on our message boards. By posting your comment you agree to our house rules. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual We will automatically post your comment and a link to the news story to your Facebook timeline at the same time it is posted on MailOnline. To do this we will link your MailOnline account with your Facebook account. We’ll ask you to confirm this for your first post to Facebook. You can choose on each post whether you would like it to be posted to Facebook. Your details from Facebook will be used to provide you with tailored content, marketing and ads in line with our Privacy Policy.