Bullied Glace Bay student with cerebral palsy gets an apology

A bullied teenager with cerebral palsy in Glace Bay, N.S., who was seen in a video being used as a human bridge last week, has received an apology.

Jim Ellsworth, the father of one of the students who bullied 14-year-old Brett Corbett, his son and other students, formally apologized over the weekend.

"This was an awful, awful situation that nobody should have to endure," Ellsworth told CBC News.

In the widely-shared video, Corbett was seen on his stomach in a shallow stream known as Burr-Bank near Glace Bay High School as other students walked over him.​ Corbett said it started as a dare, but then someone threatened to push him.

Ellsworth said his son, who CBC is not naming, arrived at the stream when Corbett was already in the water.

He said his son joined in and tried to step over Corbett, but ended up stepping on him.

"He's been brought up a lot better than that," Ellsworth said. "This is not indicative of his behaviour. He, in the past, has been on the other end [of bullying].

When father and son were later in the principal's office at Glace Bay High School, Ellsworth said his son took full responsibility for what he did.

The situation, Ellsworth said, sparked a conversation about how his son could better handle himself in a bullying situation. He said his son should have stood up for Corbett.

Ellsworth said he's had a chance to speak with Corbett's mother about what happened and said "she was all about forgiveness."

He said this past week has been difficult for his family, but hopes others can learn from his son's mistake.

"We've been trying to make sense of the whole situation and trying to see how we can move on, how we can ... take a positive spin from the whole situation to try to help other youth, including my son to get by this."