Springfield teacher charged with slapping, striking autistic child
A teacher who worked at a Springfield school for severely disabled children has been accused of repeatedly hitting a 7-year-old autistic boy, who cannot speak. She also allegedly once called the boy an "idiot."
Janet Carrie Williams, 65, was charged this week with third-degree assault and endangering the welfare of a child — both misdemeanors — after allegedly admitting to a Springfield police officer that she "accidentally" hit a child in the head five times.
Late last year, the boy's father received an anonymous letter alleging Williams slapped the boy "with an open hand" and is "demeaning and hostile toward her students" at the Greene Valley State School in Springfield, court records show. He took the letter to the Springfield Police Department, which launched an investigation.
The police interviewed Williams and her co-workers at Greene Valley, one of the designated Missouri Schools for the Severely Disabled that is operated by the state Department of Elementary and Secondary Education.
According to court documents, a teacher's aide and an occupational therapist told police, in separate interviews, that they witnessed Williams slapping the boy against the head. Police say the therapist said Williams called the boy a "son of a bitch" and then stated "You didn't see me hit him."
Williams, who lives in Lebanon, later allegedly described the incident to police as "a glancing, open-handed gesture."
On another occasion, Williams was seen trying to kick the boy while he was under a changing table and calling him an "idiot," according to court documents.
Williams was issued a criminal summons this week and was instructed to not contact the boy or his family or have any contact with other children under age 17. If convicted, she faces fines and jail time — up to 15 days on one count and one year on another.
In a Dec. 12 police interview, she told an officer that she understood the discipline policy at Greene Valley. "You don't hit, you don't touch, you're not supposed to scream. You don't accidentally hit anybody," she said, according to police.
She told police the boy was "disruptive and destructive" and, on one occasion, the boy was trying to run away from her when she grabbed him by the back of the shirt, "accidentally hitting him in the head."
No one interviewed by police reported "suspicious injuries" on the boy. Williams told police that she did not think she hurt the boy but, after one of the incidents, Williams allegedly stated he cried "empty tears."
The boy's family filed a federal lawsuit against Williams, Greene Valley State School, the state Board of Education and the state Department of Elementary and Secondary education on Dec. 16. It alleges the boy's rights were repeatedly violated and he suffered "bodily harm and emotional distress." It seeks an unspecified amount for medical expenses plus all attorney fees.
The suit filed in U.S. District Court alleges the boy "was struck physically and abused mentally by his teacher, while administrators had notice of a pattern of unsettling behavior by this teacher, all while failing to take effective and prompt remedial action to protect (the boy) from abuse."
It also explains the boy, now 8, cannot speak and weighs 95 pounds. The father stated, in the document, the boy was diagnosed with autism, epilepsy and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. Records do not show the defendants have yet responded to the suit.
Sarah Potter, spokeswoman for the state education department, said Williams was employed as a teacher in the state schools for the severely disabled for 15 years. That employment ended Jan. 2.
Greene Valley, 1601 E. Pythian St., currently has 61 students in nine classrooms and is staffed with 11 teachers, 18 teacher aides, a nurse, a home school coordinator and other support staff. Contacted by the News-Leader, administrator Peggy Robinson referred all questions to the state.
A statement released by the state education department noted all employees of the Missouri Schools for the Severely Disabled are trained in the "zero tolerance policy against abuse" every year.
"Abuses of any kind are not permitted in our schools. Employees are required to immediately report any act of emotional or physical abuse," the statement read. "Staff is to respond quickly to abuse and take swift action suspending potential abusers until allegations are fully investigated."