Negligent Mother? Boy Breaks $132,000 Statue, Mom Blames Community Center That Put The Artwork On Display

A boy is in hot water after he broke a statue displayed at Kansas City's community center and the mom is putting the blame on the center after she received a bill for $132,000.

Aphrodite di Kansas City

Surveillance video from the incident shows the 5-year-old Troy climbing on the statue and hugging it before it fell on him and on the floor. The piece of art, called Aphrodite di Kansas City, was on display at the community center as a loan from artist Bill Lyons, who is now asking for reimbursement of the broken piece.

Lyons said it took him two years to complete the statue which is made of small pieces of glass and unfortunately, cannot be fixed. He wants the mother, Sarah Goodman, held accountable for the damages and is seeking a payment of $132,000.

"I want to be reimbursed for the amount of time that I spent on it and for what I think it is worth," Lyons tells KMBC news.

Sean Reilly, a spokesperson for the city, said the sculpture was not an interactive piece and should not have been touched in the first place. He said the boy clearly climbed on the sculpture and that the broken art needs to be publicly financed.

Negligent Mom

However, Goodman is placing the blame on the community center and not on her son. She says the fragile piece of art had "absolutely no business" being in the center.

"I cannot believe they allowed something so dangerous to be where kids play," Goodman says.

The mom also points out the lack of extra protection that could have prevented the incident. She says that the sculpture was not in a Plexiglass, was not protected or held down, nor was it in a separate room. Instead, it was in the main walkway without a "Do Not Touch" sign or a barricade to prevent people from touching it.

The mom mentions that the CCTV footage does not tell the entire story of what happened. She says that she was just right around the corner when the incident happened. Goodman adds that her kids are well-supervised and well-behaved.

However, she admits that Troy may have hugged the sculpture because he is a "loving, sweet nice boy." Goodman says she also saw the sculpture on the ground and at the time thought that it did not appear badly damaged.

Goodman is letting her insurance company settle the payment for the broken artwork. She also insists that she is not a negligent mother and that her children are well-behaved.