• A 10-year-old and an 11-year-old boy – whose names have not been publicly released – were both sentenced to two years in juvenile detention for their roles in the drowning of 8-year-old Noah Bush.
• In juvenile court last week, the 11-year-old white boy told the judge he pushed Noah, who is black, into the county pit and then held his head underwater, said Mawuli Davis, a lawyer representing Noah’s family who attended the hearing.
• The 11-year-old’s mother, Natalie Hardison, was also charged with making false statements to police, according to Davis.

Investigators initially believed 8-year-old Noah Bush accidentally fell into a construction pit and drowned in Jesup, Georgia, in May. But in July, investigators uncovered something far worse.

A 10-year-old and an 11-year-old boy – whose names have not been released publicly – were both convicted in connection with the second-grader’s drowning, Mawuli Davis, one of Noah’s family’s attorneys, tells PEOPLE.

The Wayne County Sheriff’s Office did not respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment. District Attorney Keith Higgins declined to comment on the case or confirm the facts of the case listed in an email to him, citing the involvement of juveniles.

Last week, the 11-year-old white boy told juvenile court that he pushed the black child into the county’s pit and then held his head underwater, according to Davis, who attended the hearing. Proceedings and court records related to juvenile criminal cases are largely sealed from the public.

After the child pleaded guilty, he was convicted of manslaughter, simple assault, concealing the death of another person and trespassing. He was sentenced to two years in youth custody, the maximum sentence possible given his age, according to Davis.

At the sentencing on Thursday, August 22, Noah’s mother, Demetrice Bush, issued a victim impact statement, a copy of which was provided to PEOPLE by her attorneys, in which she mourned the loss of her “little boy who dreamed of becoming someone great and had those dreams senselessly ripped away from him.”

Referring to the 11-year-old in court, Demetrice added: “Even though he knows right from wrong, even though he lied to get out of trouble because he knew what he did was wrong, he is being treated as a victim even though my son is dead.”

Last month, the 10-year-old, also white, was found guilty of trespassing and covering up the death of another person in a hearing and sentenced to two years in juvenile detention, according to Davis.

According to Davis, the 11-year-old’s mother, Natalie Hardison, was also charged with making false statements to police.

Hardison’s arrest record is not publicly available online like other local inmates “for security reasons,” jail warden Terry Mays tells PEOPLE, confirming she remains in Wayne County Custody. The date of her next court appearance was not immediately announced.

Noah’s family reported him missing on May 15 after he didn’t return from playing outside, Davis tells PEOPLE.

A day later, investigators recovered Noah’s body after draining the county-owned pit, which was within walking distance of Noah’s home and was not properly fenced, according to Davis.

Among those who took part in the desperate search for Noah were the 11-year-old – who Davis said knew the child was at the bottom of the pit – and his mother’s partner. All three boys were neighbors and Noah had been friends with the 10-year-old for two years, according to Davis.

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According to the family’s lawyers, the sheriff’s office stated at the time that no crime had been committed and that Noah had wandered into the pit and drowned.

But Noah’s family – who did not believe that the eight-year-old, who was knowingly afraid of large pools of water, would have gone into the pit of his own free will – pushed for a more thorough investigation “and was ultimately proven right,” Davis explains.

Davis says the incident – which occurred about 30 miles from Glynn County, where Ahmaud Arbery was killed in a racially motivated attack while jogging in a south Georgia neighborhood in 2020 – has sparked multi-ethnic community outrage, with protesters gathering in downtown Jesup every week since Noah’s death.

Protesters continued to demand that adults connected to the case be held accountable, said Davis, who credited Noah’s mother and community protesters for “not allowing the incident to be covered up.”

Davis also says his law firm is continuing to gather evidence to present to the FBI in the near future and may also pursue civil litigation to seek “full justice” for Noah’s family.

PEOPLE asked the district attorney if the incident was being investigated as a hate crime, to which Higgins also declined to comment.

Gracie Yoder, Noah’s second-grade teacher, described Noah on a GoFundMe page as a “smart, kind and loving child” who enjoyed playing soccer, basketball and video games and was known for “giving endless hugs.”

“His light shone and his smile was contagious,” Yoder wrote, adding, “He will be missed so much and this loss will leave a void in so many hearts.”