MORGANTOWN – A Morgantown woman says a school teacher and aide physically, verbally and emotionally abused her 6-year-old special needs son.
Teresa Strader filed her complaint May 22 in Monongalia Circuit Court on behalf of her son K.S. against the Monongalia County Board of Education, teacher Diana Ellis and aide Chrissy Areford. Both work at North Elementary School in Morgantown.
According to the complaint, K.S. was restrained in a spot in a North Elementary classroom on November 16, 2022, that was hidden from view of state-mandated cameras for more than 40 minutes. In the video footage, the boy can be heard crying, screaming and begging for the abuse to stop.
Moore
| Courtesy photo
“The footage is extremely difficult to watch,” attorney Jared T. Moore told The West Virginia Record. “Based upon his special needs, K.S. was unable to tell anyone about the abuse. In this case, though, his voice will be heard loud and clear.
“Individuals who abuse special needs children, particularly those entrusted to care for them, must be required to answer for their actions.”
Ellis, a now-former substitute teacher whose contract has since been terminated by the board. She recently appeared in Monongalia County Magistrate Court last week on two felony counts of battery and assault of a disabled child.
K.S. was diagnosed in 2019 with Autism Spectrum Disorder with language impairment. He can say certain words and short phrases, but he can’t communicate like other children his age. He was placed on an Individualized Education Program by the county school board and placed in a special needs classroom for part of the school day.
The complaint says that North Elementary classroom was divided into two areas separated by a barrier of a filing cabinet with two boxes stacked on top, a tall and wide metal cabinet, four desks and another cabinet. A portable partition increased the height of the barrier, according to the complaint.
The way the video camera was situated created a blind spot, meaning Classroom 139 failed to comply with state code requirements for special needs classrooms. The blind spot was the “time out” area for special needs students.
Strader says K.S. said “hurt” several times on the way home from school after she picked him up November 16, 2022. She didn’t see any physical injuries and had no reason to believe he had been abused. She believed he was referring to his teeth based on recent events.
On February 14, 2023, Strader received a letter from Monongalia County Superintendent Dr. Eddie Campbell saying North Elementary administrators had been placed on leave due to an incident that remains under investigation.
A week later, she spoke with Monongalia BOE Director of Exceptional Student Education Stacey Sylvester, who informed her a student had been improperly restrained in the special needs classroom. She told Strader that K.S. was in the classroom when the incident occurred. Sylvester did not say K.S. was the student who had been restrained improperly.
Two days later, Strader received a call from Aric McCreary, an investigator with the state Department of Health and Human Resources’ Institutional Investigative Unit. He told her about the incident involving K.S. McCreary generally informed her K.S. had been thrown down, a teacher stomped on his feet and laughed, and K.S. cried “no,” “let go” and “stop” repeatedly. It occurred out of the view of the classroom camera.
The call with McCreary “was the very first time that Mrs. Strader had been made aware of the November 16, 2022, incident and that K.S. had been abused while attending North Elementary School,” the complaint states.
On March 10, Strader and Moore viewed video of the incident.
Less than two minutes after K.S. entered the classroom, Areford pointed at him and called him a “piece of shit.” When K.S. appeared to prod another student, Areford yelled, “Hey, you crack him, and (we or he) will mess you up.”
Then, the video shows K.S. went to another student and appeared to place his hands around the student’s neck.
“Areford instantly took hold of both K.S.’s arms from behind and pulled them backwards,” the complaint states, adding she moved K.S. aware from the other student. “Areford grabbed a nearby chair and placed in the ‘time out’ area, which was completely obscured from the video camera’s view. Areford forcefully threw K.S. onto the chair that she had placed in the obscured ‘time out’ area. …
“From across the room, Ellis shouted, ‘What is wrong with you today, (K.S.)? Seriously what is wrong with you?’”
Sharon Dunn, another aide, then placed a divider in front of K.S. and Areford to separate them from the other special needs students before Areford scolded K.S., according to the complaint.
“Areford told K.S., ‘You’re going to calm down or you’re not moving. We’ll sit here all day,’” the complaint states. “Ellis threatened K.S. by stating, ‘(K.S.), you do not want to test me!
“Areford said to K.S., ‘The only thing I should be hearing out of your mouth is ‘sorry.’ No, I want to hear sorry. … While restraining K.S., Areford said, ‘We can do this all day. I’m here all day.’”
K.S. cried out several times and began screaming and crying very loudly, according to the complaint.
“In response to K.S.’s screams and cries, Ellis instructed Areford, ‘You break him! You break him!’ while making a breaking sign with her hands,” the complaint states. “As K.S. continued to cry, Ellis retrieved a thick black belt from across the classroom and handed it to Powers.”
Areford also shouted the f-word followed by something unintelligible before Ellis handed the belt to Destiny Powers, another aide. Powers used the belt to restrain K.S.’s arms to his body as Areford physically detained him, according to the complaint.
“That’s going to happen to you if you don’t keep your hands to yourself, mister,” Ellis told K.S, according to the complaint. “That’s what happens when you use your hands.”
About 13 minutes after K.S. entered the room, Dunn removed four other special needs students from the classroom, leaving just one other student there. Meanwhile, Areford continued to restrain K.S. despite his pleas and cries.
“You’re not winning this one, buddy,” Ellis said, according to the complaint.
“Listen, you listen to me right now,” Areford told him, according to the complaint. “I am tired of this, and you need to stop. You need to stop. Get up in that chair.”
Seven minutes later, Powers took the other student out of the classroom. After more begging from K.S., Areford told the boy, “I will break you down!” When Powers returned to the classroom a moment later, Ellis turned off the lights.
“I don’t care what you don’t want,” Ellis told K.S., according to the complaint. “If you can’t be quiet, this is what’s going on. This is what happens.”
The complaint says Ellis mocked K.S. and mimicked his cries and told him to stop touching her table.
“Wah! Ha ha ha, wah!” she said, according to the complaint. “So unhappy (K.S.), I’m so unhappy, I’m going to cry like you. Wah! Wah! Wah! Wah!”
Then, the complaint says Ellis taunted K.S. before the boy screamed in pain. There is a loud crashing noise heard on the video, followed by “the distinct sound of a slap.”
“Do you want me to keep stepping on your foot?” Ellis asks K.S., according to the complaint. “Stop kicking me. You understand? Are you going to stop kicking me? If you kick me, I will put my foot right back on yours.”
K.S. then groans in pain before Ellis asks him if it hurts.
“Don’t kick me or I will step right back on your foot again,” she tells him, according to the complaint before another loud crashing noise is heard on the video followed by more screams from K.S.
Ellis then retrieved a blanket and covered K.S. with it, according to the complaint.
“K.S.’s muffled cries from under the blanket can be heard on the video footage,” the complaint states. “Ellis announced, ‘Stop and I’ll take the blanket off.
“Areford declared, ‘If you would stop, she wouldn’t do this.’”
A few moments later, Ellis continued to mock the boy in the video.
“Help. H. E. L. P. Help, help,” she said, according to the complaint. “Let’s see, help, on help, help me, help me, help me … Why are you so bad, (K.S.)? Why are you so bad?
“Areford announced, ‘I’m going to wear him down!’”
Ellis responded to Areford’s comment with an evil laugh, according to the complaint, before the other special needs students begin to be brought back into the classroom, according to the complaint.
Areford referred to K.S. as a “little psycho maniac” to Dunn before the boy emerged from the blind spot holding his head, according to the complaint. He continued to hold his head as he walked around the classroom.
Strader accuses the defendants of negligence, violation of the West Virginia Human Rights Act and reckless infliction of emotional distress. She accuses Ellis and Areford of battery and assault. She seeks compensatory damages, pre- and post-judgment interests, court costs, attorney fees and other relief. She also seeks punitive damages from Ellis and Areford.
Strader is being represented by Moore of The Moore Law Firm in Morgantown.
Earlier this month, North Elementary Vice Principal Carol Muniz retired. Video footage showed her striking another special needs student on January 26. Principal Natalie Webb also has been charged with a misdemeanor count of failure to report the incident to the proper authorities.
Monongalia Circuit Court case number 23-C-132
