INSIDE EDITION talks to an 8-year-old boy and his mother after TSA agents selected the boy for an airport security pat down.
8-year-old Spencer Sheahan's trip to Disneyland took a detour into security hell as he was forced to endure a full body pat down at the airport!
His mother Heather could barely believe what was happening to her son at the Portland International Airport.
"They walked him into a glass room. You should have seen the look on his face," said Heather.
"I had absolutely no idea of what was going to happen to me," Spencer said.
Photos of Spencer showed how alarmed he was as an agent prepared to pat him down.
"The agent said he'd been selected for a random screening," Heather said.
"Did that seem a little strange?" INSIDE EDITION's Les Trent asked.
"Yes, he's just a boy!" said Heather.
Spencer and his mom demonstrated how thoroughly he was patted down. The agent started at the shoulders, moved down through the waistband, through his thighs and down by his feet.
Spencer's confusion over the procedure made him fear that he'd never get to Disneyland.
"When we left the screening he said, ‘Mom, do they think I'm a bad guy?'" said Heather.
"Do you think they went too far?" asked Trent.
"It's just sad it had to happen and my son was so scared," said Heather.
The good news is the Sheahan family finally made it to Disneyland, but they'll never forget what young Spencer had to go through to get there.
Prompted by public outrage, the TSA recently changed its policy. The agency says it will now instruct airport screeners at checkpoints to screen young children without invasive pat downs.
