A bully who was repeatedly locking a special-needs student in a school locker has been revealed as the child’s teacher.
The eight year old child’s mother is now suing New York City’s Department of Education for $1 million over the “vile and abhorrent” treatment.
Paraprofessional Jeremy Turner was fired from his position at Mickey Mantle Elementary School after mother Yaashia Harris learned about the incidents in January.
Turner, 31, of Brooklyn, was also arrested and charged with misdemeanour assault, unlawful imprisonment and injuring a minor.
The court heard how the child, who suffers from a speech impediment and ADHD, was so terrorised while trapped in the locker that he was:
“… screaming, frantically punching the locker in an effort to get out—that when I took him to the hospital, they diagnosed that he had fractured his right ring finger.”
It is believed that Mr.Turner would lock the child into the locker for up to 15minutes, more than once a day as a form of punishment.
On the day where the child broke his finger, school reports filed to the court detailed that the child had acted out in class by drawing on his own face with a marker, yelling loudly, and kicking a teacher.
Harris has since put her child into trauma counselling and pulled him from the school where the abuse occurred. Harris’ court papers say Turner imposed the archaic punishment on at least three other children.
Turner was released without bail and is due back in criminal court in July.
