A Texas mother is furious after her son claimed his fourth-grade teacher taped him to a chair during class time and allowed students to ridicule him.
The suburban Dallas school district says it is investigating the incident, but “there are two sides to every story.”
On Wednesday, Feb. 22, Charlotte Johnson’s 10-year-old son Zye was allegedly taped to a chair during class by a teacher at the Crosby Elementary School in Forney, Texas, NBC News reports.
After being reported, the teacher was placed on administrative leave by the Forney Independent School District as an investigation into the incident takes place.
According to the child, the teacher snatched him by the arm after he had completed his lunch period and sat him in the seat. The educator is accused of calling on two other students to support her as she taped him, asking one to hold his arm and the other one to get more tape for her.
The mother says her son told her he was taped around his waist and allowed to have his arms free.
When the teacher left to return the tape to another teacher, a few students allegedly started to hit Zye in the head. The child said he tried to block his face from getting hit.
“My son has dwarfism. He’s 10, but he doesn’t look like he is,” Johnson said. “He tells me one of the students told him, ‘I’m going to slap you as hard as Will Smith slapped Chris Rock.'”
The mother said she feels guilty because she was unable to protect her child during the alleged assault.
Zye also suffers chronic migraines that started to flare up during the incident. The 10-year-old broke free of the tape and went to sit in the “cool down” area of the classroom. He said as he sat in the area, the teacher walked over to him and asked him, “You know I was just playing with you?”
Shortly after sitting in the “cool down” area, Zye asked if he could see the nurse. When allowed, he went to the school nurse and told her what happened to him. The mandated reporter did not alert an official or the boy’s parents.
Later, after the school day was over, one of the assistant principals called Johnson and told her the disturbing news.
Recalling the conversation, Johnson explained, “[The school] said, ‘Well, the teacher taped Zye to his desk, and some of the children in the classroom were hitting him over his head with their hands and their fists.’ And I said, roll back, you said taped T-A-P-E-D? And [the school] said ‘Yes, taped.’ And I said, what would make her think that that was, OK?”
The official told her the reason why Zye was taped up was that “he wouldn’t be still.”
The mom said she had never received a report that her son was “disruptive” in the woman’s class. She is baffled by why the teacher went to such lengths to discipline him or to get him to sit still.
“I was upset. I said, ‘You mean to tell me she taped him because he would not be still? It really doesn’t matter what he did — you don’t do that to a child. He’s not an animal. You don’t do that and leave him unattended for students to assault him,” Johnson said.
Johnson also said her son had always liked school, never having a problem with other students regarding his height or behavior.
“I haven’t had any complaints of anybody bullying him, mistreating him, or teasing him as far as his height or anything,” Johnson said to CBS News.
The mother believes being placed on administrative leave is not enough punishment for what the teacher did to her son. According to Johnson, the teacher, whose name is being withheld by the district, should be fired and charged with child abuse.
“She does not need to be teaching anybody’s children. She needs to be arrested for putting my child in harm’s way to be assaulted by other students,” Johnson states.
Johnson did not take Zye out of the school, but when he returned the next day, she made sure he was in a different class and working with a different teacher.
She also said she has yet to hear from officials at the district about what they plan to do about the assault.
“My son was in your care, and you’re supposed to protect him from things like this, but it seems you’re only worried about the teacher,” Johnson said, referencing the school district. “It looks to me you’re protecting the teacher, and you’re not worried about the well-being of my son.”
The school district issued a statement on Tuesday, Feb. 28, confirming it is “aware of the allegations, and an investigation is underway.”
Spokesperson Kristin Zastoupil said, “There are two sides to every story, and we need to allow time for the investigation process to take place before commenting further.”
The district told one press outlet they are investigating to see if the incident actually happened.
Johnson insists it did and is asking for the school to turn over surveillance tapes to corroborate her son’s story. She also said that both the principal and the assistant principal “admitted to doing it.”
“She told the principal she thought it was a joke,” Johnson said.
The Forney ISD Police Department is continuing to investigate the incident.
