Inset: Arizona eighth-grader Abel Schipper (AZFamily). Background: The Mayer school where Abel Schipper is accused of throwing dodgeballs at his former girlfriend (AZFamily).
A 13-year-old Arizona student is facing an assault allegation after authorities say he repeatedly hit his ex-girlfriend with dodgeballs during a school gym class, an incident that reportedly sent the girl to the hospital.
His mother, Cecily Schipper, has pushed back strongly against the charge tied to the alleged physical education class incident at Mayer High School in Yavapai County, calling the situation “absolutely ridiculous.”
“This is a game that every kid in the nation plays at some point in their life,” she told AZFamily. She said officials are treating “the dodgeball [as] a weapon” and accusing her son of knowingly, willingly or recklessly hurting the girl while he was simply participating in PE dodgeball.
Abel Schipper is charged with misdemeanor assault stemming from the December 2025 episode. Police said the girl, described as his ex-girlfriend, was hospitalized with bruising and softball-sized welts across her rib cage and abdomen.
According to the case details, a social worker reached out to the Yavapai County Sheriff’s Office two days after the gym class incident and reported that Abel and two other eighth-grade boys had allegedly gone after the girl as she “came out of the bathroom” during warm-ups for a dodgeball game.
The social worker told deputies that the boys “relentlessly assaulted her with dodgeballs,” according to a police report cited by AZFamily.
Investigators later spoke with Abel and the two other boys. All three denied trying to injure the girl, saying the warm-up dodgeball game was already underway and that she was targeted as part of the activity, police said.
“We threw around the dodgeballs and then I throw it at her. I hit her,” Abel told AZFamily. “Obviously I’m going to have to target somebody for dodgeball. It’s dodgeball. You have to choose somebody, throw the ball, then try to get them out,” he said. “I didn’t want to hurt her at all.”
Describing his relationship with the victim, Abel said, “I wouldn’t say we were on good terms, but I also wouldn’t say we were on bad terms. She used to hit me a lot and then she kind of just broke it off after that.”
Cecily Schipper told AZFamily that despite the breakup, there were no bad feelings between her son and the victim.
“I have text messages from her asking for rides home after this incident happened in December,” Schipper recounted. “So it was, it’s just strange. … If it was a situation where, boys will be boys, then he deserves punishment for that. But I also think that, I don’t agree with victim blaming, but I think my son is also getting injustice here when it comes to the court situation.”
A judge is reportedly scheduled to hear Abel’s case on Aug. 17. It’s unclear whether the other boys have also been charged.
The school and the victim’s mother did not respond to AZFamily’s requests for comment.
The post 13-year-old hit with assault charge for ‘relentlessly’ pelting ex-girlfriend with dodgeballs during 8th grade gym class, sending her to hospital: Cops first appeared on Law & Crime.
