COLONIE – Kris Dott wants to be transparent about why she’s going public with an ugly incident that occurred in the boys’ bathroom at Colonie High involving her disabled son that left him violated and humiliated.

Dott says she’s not looking to ruin anybody’s life, she just believes it is a story that needs to be told.

It was back on Monday, September 23 when a special needs student at Colonie High was standing at a urinal, his backside exposed, and another students snapped a picture of him.

“I was instantly hysteric,” Dott recalls, “I was beside myself.”

Dott didn’t find out what had happened to her son until two days later when contacted by a school administrator. Adding insult to injury to the initial privacy violation, the picture was quickly posted on Snapchat.

“Who knows how many times it was shared on social media and how many people saw that,” Dott asked rhetorically.

Her son happens to be on the autism spectrum, enrolled in the school district’s Life Skills curriculum.

“Thank God, I haven’t noticed any behavioral changes in my son,” Dott said. I think he’s just in his own world and just does his thing and is happy-go-lucky most of the time.”

Ninety-nine percent of the time, Dott said, her son, who is 6’4″, 290 pounds, is “one big teddy bear.”

“All the kids know who the special needs kids are,” Dott points out, “They know the ones who are a little more vulnerable, but whether they (bullied him) because of his disability, I can’t say, but in my opinion they did.”

Dott eventually found out there were six other students in the boys room, including the picture taker. After the school resource officer identified them and questioned them, the candid camera caper was cracked.

“You want to protect your kids and you want them to be good human beings and have that compassion and you don’t want anything to happen to them,” Dott said. “Unfortunately, when you have a child with a disability, you protect them more.”

That her son is on the autism spectrum and might not realize the full scope of the incident, Dott calls a blessing in disguise. Unfortunately, she continued, Dott fears the incident may have created additional unwanted consequences.

“Now he’s got to get escorted to the bathroom, or have a monitor there, or use the school’s private bathroom,” Dott points out. “That’s frustrating because I want him to be independent. I want him to eventually live on his own and do things. But people can be cruel.”

At first, Dott says she struggled with whether or not she should file charges against the picture taker.

“I don’t want to hurt anybody or any serious repercussions, but people need to learn a lesson,” she said.

Dott also acknowledges the courageous actions of the (unidentified) student who saw something on social media and said something to her school principal.

“They were just snapping the picture and sharing it,” Dott said. “Who knows how far it went? But she saw something, and she spoke up, and she was his voice and I am eternally grateful to her and her family. They’re raising such an awesome young lady.”

Colonie Police tell NewsChannel 13 that individuals involved in cases like this are typically charged with unlawful surveillance and dissemination of indecent material. A minor has been arrested and charged in the case, police said.