Why does Stacey get paddled at school? Was the paddling unfair? Why or why not/

A boy named Little Willie tells Cassie and her brothers that Stacey was caught with a cheat sheet, which he'd grabbed from TJ in class and was whipped by his mother. During this period, children were paddled, and Stacey's infraction...... having the sheet in his hand...... was enough to merit punishment. Having a cheat sheet for his mother's test probably got him twice the paddling. Fair? Stacey did the right thing in taking the paper away from TJ, but he wouldn't reveal why he had the sheet, so he chose the punishment he received. Do you think it was fair?