CABARRUS COUNTY, N.C. — A Cabarrus County family is sounding the alarm after their child with unique needs came home from school with more than a dozen bruises on his body and marks around his throat. They said it was done by his teacher at Jay M. Robinson High School at the end of October.
Chris Mason sat in between his parents, Rodney Rothoff and Queen Miller, during an interview with WCNC Charlotte. His parents say he's a student who loves hands-on work and has big dreams.
“I love to be in building class," Mason said. "So I can be smart like Albert Einstein.”
Mason is diagnosed with autism and cerebral palsy and has an intellectual developmental disability. After school at the end of October one day, Miller said something was wrong.
"When I first seen him, he was shaking all over and I thought he was having a seizure because that’s how bad he was shaking," she said.
Miller said she looked at him further and discovered something that made her sick to her stomach: 15 bruises on his body.
"He grabbed me by my neck when I got to the door," Mason said, referring to his teacher.
Chris and his parents said he was having a behavioral issue at school when his teacher tried to stop him. Miller called the teacher immediately.
"The teacher said, 'oh we had a tussle today,'" she recalled.
Miller said the teacher told her that Mason was trying to leave the classroom. Her son told her the teacher placed his hands on him, which is not included as part of his individualized education plan (IEP).
"They are supposed to take him on walks, calm him down, use techniques," Rothoff said.
Chris' parents said they pulled him out of school following the incident. They added the district never sent them an incident report and did not agree to a meeting. Rothoff then filed a police report. He said the following day, the district agreed to a meeting.
WCNC Charlotte learned the teacher is no longer employed with Cabarrus County Schools. We asked the district if the teacher honored Chris' IEP. The district provided the following response:
The safety and security of all students is of the utmost importance to the district. Cabarrus County Schools was made aware of the allegations and conducted a thorough investigation. The teacher in question is no longer employed by the district. Cabarrus County Schools does not comment on specific personnel matters.
Contact Austin Walker at awalker@wcnc.com and follow him on Facebook, X and Instagram.