An 11-year-old Virginia boy with autism begged for his “mommy” while being confined and secluded in a “makeshift classroom prison,” according to a lawsuit filed by his mother. The child ultimately died from injuries sustained while banging his head on the floor, the lawsuit says.

“I want my mommy,” cried Joshua Sikes during his “imprisonment” at Pembroke Elementary School in October 2024, according to a legal complaint obtained by Law&Crime and filed by his mother Julie Xirau against Southeastern Cooperative Educational Programs, a special education provider.

“I miss my mommy,” Joshua allegedly said, after being placed in the “makeshift classroom prison” in an attempt to “calm him down,” per the complaint.

“No more angry bear,” Joshua repeatedly verbalized, according to his mother. “I’m calm bear,” he allegedly said.

While being “restrained and secluded,” Joshua laid down and began kicking and “striking his head on the floor,” the complaint alleges. Hours passed while SECEP employees allegedly “watched and did nothing” to help him.

“Shortly after 2 p.m. on October 31, 2024, satisfied that they had sufficiently agitated Joshua for purposes of creating a paper trail to remove Joshua from the classroom, [SECEP staff] called Joshua’s mother, Julie, and informed her that Joshua was misbehaving and needed to be picked up from school,” the complaint says. “Believing that the professionals tasked with ensuring Joshua’s safety were truthful in the representation, Julie told Joshua that he would not be able to go trick-or-treating that night, as a consequence for his alleged ‘misbehavior’ as reported to Julie.”

Not being able to go trick-or-treating left Joshua “devastated,” and his limited verbal skills left him unable to articulate “the truth about the horrific way he was treated,” the complaint alleges. His mother says she was also completely unaware that Joshua had been injured in the “classroom prison,” which was allegedly constructed using bookcases, bookshelves, and “heavy-duty” straps that held furniture together to keep children from having freedom of movement.