Indiana Elementary School Employees Forced Special Needs Student to Eat His Own Vomit

A 7-year-old special needs student at an Indiana elementary school was allegedly forced to eat his vomit with a spoon in the lunchroom as school employees watched.

According to Fox News, the February incident led to the filing of charges against four Brownsburg Community School Corporation employees and one third-party independent contractor from Kids Count Therapy, LLC. The Hendrick County Prosecutor's Office reportedly filed the charges on Tuesday afternoon.

In a statement released on Wednesday, the Brownsburg Police Department said its investigators presented the results of its probe involving the mistreatment of a Brown Elementary School male student in the Life Skills program on April 20.

Police said Sara Seymour, a 27-year-old Brown Elementary Life Skills teacher, and 63-year-old instructional aide Debra Kanipe were each charged with felony neglect of a dependent.

They were also charged with misdemeanor failure to report, together with teacher Julie Taylor, 48; instructional aide Kristen Mitchell, 38; and Kids Count Registered Behavioral Technician Megan King, 24.

Indiana Elementary School Employees Forced the Special Needs Student to Eat His Vomit

The Brownsburg Police Department said Sara Seymour told the boy that if he vomited, he would be required to eat what he threw up. Julie Taylor then gave the child a tray to vomit on.

Police noted that the boy eventually vomited on the tray and the table, and Debra Kanipe, reportedly handed the child a spoon, FOX 59 reported.

Police said the boy was then forced to use the spoon to eat the vomit and cleaned the rest with paper towels.

According to authorities, Seymour and Kanipe stood at each side of the boy as he ate some of the vomit. Kristen Mitchell and Megan King witnessed the incident.

According to the probable cause affidavit, a video showed what happened and the involvement of the five school employees in the incident.

Police noted that the termination process for Seymour and Kanipe was already initiated, while others remain on administrative leave pending the Brownsburg Community School Corporation (BCSC) School Board rulings.

The school corporation has also advised Kids Count that they were no longer allowed to be on the school property.

In a message to parents, the BCSC said: "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."

Chicago Teacher Abused Special Needs Students at School

Last month, NBC Chicago reported that eight parents sued a Chicago Public Schools (CPS) teacher for allegedly assaulting special needs students by hitting them with her hands and a ruler and constantly cursing them.

The charges were reportedly accompanied by a recorded conversation in which the teacher told her Whistler Elementary School kids, "The longer you cry, the longer I will hit you."

"When I learned what was going on in her classroom, my worst fears were realized," said Candace Bowman, a mom to a nonverbal child with autism. "Now, looking back, it all makes sense."

The lawsuit has named CPS, the Board of Education, the teacher, and the school's principal, as defendants. It was filed on behalf of eight parents and guardians of children in kindergarten through second grade with mental and physical disabilities.

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Written by: Bert Hoover

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