Parents of a high school sophomore accused their school district of covering up a startling case of bullying, leaving the child to face his attackers every day, Local 2 Investigates reported Tuesday.

"It hurts. It hurts for me to see him go through what he's been through and to know that he was helpless that night. There was nobody there to help him," said Lisa Whittington as she wiped away tears. "It's turned our lives upside down. Our lives are not the same and they probably never will be the same."

Her 15-year-old son reported to police that he was cornered in a secluded football field equipment room by four boys at Atascocita High School in Humble. He said one boy tackled him and a 17-year-old junior started pummeling him with socks that were tightly rolled up in a knot and swung at him.

All of the boys are equipment managers for the Eagles football team at their school.

Jacob Whittington said, "(He) started just wailing on me with the socks and, while he was hitting me, I didn't want to fight back because, if I fought back, I thought I would get in trouble. I didn't know what to do because I couldn't go anywhere. "I was scared because I had no clue what was going to happen."

His mother photographed deep scratches on his back and arms and dark bruising on his torso. She turned those photos over to Humble Independent School District Police.

"It hurts," said his mother. "It hurts for me to see him hurt, and know that there's nothing that I can do."

Police charged the 17-year-old with assault and issued a criminal citation to one of the other boys, but Lisa Whittington said her son has to continue facing their taunts and threats every day at the school.

"It bugs me that these kids are still in school, that my son faces his attackers every day, and it bugs me that this is supposed to be a safe learning environment for my child and it's not," she said.

She said district leaders have tried to cover up the attack and have not been returning her calls.

She said the attackers were given a slap on the wrist with in-school suspension.

"You didn't deal with it. In-school suspension is nothing," she said.

She referred to copies of the Humble ISD discipline policies that require any student who uses a weapon to hurt someone to be removed to alternative school.

"They're picking and choosing which rules to follow," she said.

"I have to face those kids every day," said Jacob Whittington, adding that it seems like his school just does not care.

Local 2 Investigates asked Humble ISD Superintendent Guy Sconzo about the allegations of light punishment and going against his own discipline policy.

The district released a statement Tuesday afternoon in response:

"Horseplay and disagreements sometimes occur among teenagers and we have consequences in place to respond to inappropriate behavior. School officials investigated an incident that occurred after a football game in an equipment room. The students involved received school discipline and discipline under the Code of Conduct for Student Athletes. A parent filed charges against two students. The district is continuing its internal investigation to assure that all parental and student concerns in this case have been appropriately addressed."

Jacob Whittington said bullying takes on a much more intense meaning to him now, after seeing news reports of other kids being bullied or pushed to suicide in other districts around the nation.

"Most people, they think bullying is just words, but it's more than words. It's a lot worse," he said.