BROWNSBURG, Ind. — UPDATE: The Brownsburg Community School Corporation board voted Monday to terminate the employees involved in the incident.
Several Brownsburg elementary school staff members are facing charges after police said they mistreated and failed to report the mistreatment of a 7-year-old boy in the special education program.
The alleged incident happened in February with a student in the Life Skills program at Brown Elementary, located at 310 Stadium Drive, near South Odell Street.
Sara Seymour, a 27-year-old teacher, allegedly told the boy that if he vomited, he would be required to eat what he threw up.
Police said another teacher, 48-year-old Julie Taylor, provided a tray for the boy to throw up on.
Then, after the boy threw up, 63-year-old Debra Kanipe, an instructional aid, allegedly gave a spoon to the boy to use to eat some of his vomit.
Police said Seymour and Kanipe stood on each side of the boy as he ate a portion of his vomit, while 38-year-old Kristen Mitchell, an instructional aid, and 24-year-old Meghan King, a behavioral technician at K1ds Count Therapy, watched the incident and did nothing about it.
“Anybody who watches the video, it’s going to be a pendulum of emotions. You first see it and you are in disbelief and shock and then you move to anger and outrage and then you go back to disbelief and shock,” said Brownsburg Police Capt. Jennifer Barrett.
The student involved is part of the school’s life skills program and has a cognitive disability that affects his memory.
“He is verbal but again with the memory being affected, he wasn’t able to tell us this happened back in February,” Barrett said.
Police say the school first learned about the incident two weeks ago.
“This actually came forward for another party. There was an internal process going on within the school corporation about a completely independent issue and it was during this process that this information was discovered, and the school contacted us immediately,” Barrett said.
“At the end of the day, they failed. They failed our children, they failed that child and they failed all of us,” Barrett said.
One of the workers then allegedly instructed the boy to clean up the rest of his vomit with paper towels.
The district said they first learned about the incident on April 12, and the staff members involved were removed from any contact with students and immediately placed on administrative leave.
The Hendricks County Prosecutor's Office filed the following charges Tuesday afternoon:
- Sara Seymour, 27 (teacher): Neglect of a dependent and failure to report
- Debra Kanipe, 63 (instructional aid): Neglect of a dependent and failure to report
- Julie Taylor, 48 (teacher): Failure to report
- Kristen Mitchell, 38 (instructional aid): Failure to report
- Meghan King, 24 (behavioral technician at K1ds Count Therapy): Failure to report
"As educators, protecting the safety and welfare of our students is at the core of who we are. We are deeply saddened by the actions of these staff members and will work in conjunction with our local law enforcement as they move forward with possible criminal charges," BCSC Superintendent Jim Snapp said in a statement.
Police confirmed the student has returned to school.
The school board will make the firings of Seymour and Kanipe official when it approves the superintendent’s report at the next school board business meeting on Monday, May 8.
The district released the following statement on the incident:
On Monday, April 17, we shared with Brown Elementary families and staff that BCSC had moved forward with termination for two staff members after learning of the mistreatment of a life skills student in their care at lunch. BCSC has been notified that these two staff members will be charged by the Hendricks County Prosecutor. Two other staff members are also being charged for their roles in failing to report the incident. More details are forthcoming from the Brownsburg Police Department (BPD).
As BPD releases more information about this incident, please know that the BCSC family will continue to be steadfast in our commitment to Brownsburg students, their safety, and their well-being. This horrendous action is not in line with the character of staff and teachers at Brownsburg Schools. The shocking actions of a few does not define the care and concern that Brownsburg teachers and staff show every day.