A teacher taped a disabled student’s mouth shut in just one horrific example of repeated abuse that occurred at a Michigan school, a lawsuit alleges.
Rosa Smith, 26, who has cerebral palsy along with other disabilities, suffered “physical, emotional and psychological harm” while she attended High Point School in Ann Arbor, according to a lawsuit filed on Wednesday.
Smith’s teacher, Nesa Johnson, is accused of taping Smith’s mouth and sending a photo of the 26-year-old to her mother, along with a text that read, “Help. She won’t be quiet!!!”
“Taping a special-needs student’s mouth shut is appalling in-and-of-itself, but was especially torturous for Rosa, who is physically unable to remove the tape, has trouble breathing and clearing her throat, and breathes out of her mouth,” the lawsuit states.
“Defendant Johnson’s actions put Rosa’s life in jeopardy. Furthermore, hair and skin were missing from the area of Rosa’s face where Johnson removed the tape,” the lawsuit added.
In addition to having her face covered with tape, staffers at the school overmedicated her, slapped her, locked her in the bathroom for extended periods of time and spilled hot coffee on her leg, according to the lawsuit.
In 2004, Smith’s mother met her at the bus stop at the end of the school day and saw the skin on her leg burned off, according to court documents.
When her mother complained, however, the school denied wrongdoing, claiming the burns were self-inflicted after Rosa knocked the coffee off a shelf, the lawsuit states
The lawsuit also claims staff members “intentionally over-medicated Rosa to mollify, pacify and sedate her instead of providing the educational services to which she had a federal right.”
In February this year, a staff member allegedly slapped Smith in the face several times “in plain view” of other students and faculty members, the lawsuit alleges.
While no one reported the alleged abuse, Smith’s bus driver witnessed the assault and later notified her mother, according to the court documents.
The Washtenaw Independent School District issued a statement to the Detroit Free Press saying they conducted a complete investigation and took “appropriate remedial action” when they first learned about the family’s concern.
“The family did not report this, or any other complaint to the district until nearly a year after it occurred. During that subsequent year, the student continued attending school, in the same classroom, with the same teacher,” the statement said.
via NY DAILY NEWS
