Schoolteacher tries to poison child so he couldn't go on field trip

bobo.the.nut · Oct 10, 2009

Here's the story:

http://www.wtkr.com/news/nationworld/sns-ap-us-candy-bar-lawsuit,0,6805901.story
Summary: A schoolteacher in Indianapolis attempted to give an autistic child a peanut-filled candy bar (he had a severe allergy) in the hopes of making him too ill to go on the field trip that day. Apparently he was disruptive and she didn't want to have to deal with him.

Maybe not national news, but, honestly. He could have died and she was so nonchalant about it. Just because they're autistic doesn't mean they're any less human.

Thoughts?

The Fuk? · Oct 10, 2009

Another employee not qualified for their position, where have we seen that before?

childofturin · Oct 10, 2009

This teacher should be in prison. I mean, this hits me pretty hard, personally, because my little brother is autistic, but he's managed to regain a large amount of functionality, and is at a normal academic level for his age. If this had happened to him, it would have set him back years of development, since almost all of his progress is based on a special diet we have him on. Any deviation, and he starts to slip backwards. So, this teacher should definitely be prevented from ever having the opportunity to do this ever again.

Catch the Rain · Oct 10, 2009

It actually makes me feel sick that people like that are teaching in schools with any child, let alone a child who needs additional help and support.

:l what a horrible story.

Kaiionel · Oct 10, 2009

Oh, man. This is disgusting. I'm hoping that teacher was fired immediately. Was she sent to prison?

Kextia · Oct 10, 2009

She should be in jail! I don't care how the child acts, no matter what you should never do something like that!

Spaze · Oct 10, 2009

Well, that's horrible. B| I'm glad that boy didn't eat the candybar...And that teacher should be in jail.

Jayn · Oct 10, 2009

This depresses me. It's really quite sick. And he should be in jail. :/ I feel bad for the child...But at least they didn't eat it.

♥AL90♥ · Oct 10, 2009

I have to say that the school teacher was stupid.

If you don't want the kid to go on the field trip then consult the parents. Maybe they'll chaperone him. They'll probably do a better job than the teacher anyway

DemyxPlaysMySitar · Oct 10, 2009

....wow. What a freakin' idiot. Even worse that it's a child, who might not have realised what was going on :/

People like that should be in jail, seriously.

The Twin · Oct 10, 2009

That teacher should have asked the parents if they could chaperone the child on the trip. This is disgusting. It's people like this who give the rest of us teachers a bad name.

Mvalentine · Oct 10, 2009

Sounds to me that she just wanted to pick on the poor kid...didnt sound like he did anything wrong...I'd hate to be that kid wondering what torture comes the next day...I hope that teacher learns her lesson from whatever punishment they give.

YukiSaxor · Oct 10, 2009

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) â€” The mother of an 8-year-old autistic boy with severe peanut allergies said Friday that an Indianapolis teacher gave her son a peanut-filled candy bar in hopes of making him sick so he wouldn't go on a field trip.

A lawsuit filed by the boy's mother, Anita Young, alleges that special education teacher Trinda Barocas told a classroom aide that the boy would likely misbehave and "maybe he could be sick enough not to attend and we won't have to deal with it." Young said her son, Jacob, who is mostly nonverbal, gets hives and experiences swelling if he merely touches peanuts.

Officials at Mary Bryan Elementary School in Indianapolis contacted Young in March after classroom aides reported that Barocas mistreated the boy, who was 7 at the time, and another child.

"She knew how severe his allergy was," Young said Friday. "To tempt a child with something that could take their life â€” honestly, it blows my mind. I think that she should be held accountable for what she's done."

Jacob didn't eat the candy bar, probably because he does not eat unfamiliar foods and didn't recognize its yellow wrapper, his mother said.

Department of Education officials and Marion County prosecutors are investigating.

Barocas, who no longer works at the school, does not have a listed phone number and her lawyer did not return a call seeking comment Friday. She told state investigators earlier this year that the allegations were false and she did nothing to prevent the boy from attending the field trip, according to a Department of Child Services report provided by Young's attorney. A department spokeswoman wouldn't confirm whether the agency investigated the case, citing confidentiality laws.

The lawsuit said one classroom aide told school officials that Barocas treated the boy like a "caged animal" by keeping him for hours in a cubicle that should have been used for short times alone. Barocas also was accused of pinching the boy, standing on his foot so he could not move his leg and grabbing him by the arm to drag him around the classroom.

Young believes criminal charges are warranted.

"I'm outraged. When I think about my son's face â€” he can't speak â€” I just have to see the torture in his face," Young said, holding back tears. "It hurts a mother to know that every day I sent him back there."

The lawsuit, filed Sept. 22 in Marion County Circuit Court, seeks unspecified damages and said school officials should have known about the abuse and had a duty to protect the boy.

The school district said in a statement Friday that it filed a report with Child Protection Services immediately upon learning of the alleged abuse on March 16. Barocas was put on administrative leave with pay on March 19 during the investigation. She told the school in February, before the allegations were made, that she would resign at the end of the school year. Officials said it was for reasons unrelated to the abuse.

Barocas had worked at the school since August 2008. It wasn't immediately clear Friday when her employment with Perry Township Schools ended.

The Indiana Department of Child Services reviewed the classroom aides' complaints and found that Barocas, "did not want (the boy) to attend the field trip to the Indianapolis Zoo because of his behavior," according to a DCS report provided by Young's lawyer. "She stated that he did go and did many things that he was not allowed to do. Trinda compared (the boy) to an 18-month-old child several times. Trinda denied that she did anything or said anything to stop (the boy) from coming on the field trip.

The DCS report said aides also claimed Barocas hit a 9-year-old girl with Down syndrome on the lips in an attempt to make her pull her tongue back into her mouth. Barocas told DCS officials that she would tap the girl with two fingers on her mouth as a physical prompt. Barocas said it was a therapeutic technique, not abuse.

In 2007, Barocas was placed on administrative leave in Franklin Community Schools after a nurse told a child's mother that she saw Barocas force-feed the girl, slap her and improperly restrain her, according to The Indianapolis Star. Authorities cleared Barocas in that case.

"I did not, will not and would not hurt a child in my care," Barocas told the newspaper at the time.

Young said her son became more frustrated and angry, and would fight her when she tried to make him go to school at the time of the alleged abuse. He now attends a different school.

"He doesn't fight me to go to school," Young said. "It's wonderful to see him get up and put his backpack on and wait by the door."
Click to expand...

Not only the boy...but other students too. (I lost count on how many) A pretty horrible teacher. I would hate to have someone like that teach me..

Either that or the article is exgeratting, probably isn't though.

The #1 that really caught my attention was the fact that the kid was very allergic to peanuts, She could've killed him!
Another thing that caught my attention was slapping.
Isn't there a law against teacher's slapping and hitting students?
(or is that law is only in California?)

Roxas is Hot · Oct 10, 2009

FFFF-

That's some serious hate there. D:
Hopefully it costs her her job.

John Clay Rice · Oct 10, 2009

What an idiot.

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Schoolteacher tries to poison child so he couldn't go on field trip

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