Sheriff’s office report details alleged abuse against students at MCISD

MONROE, Mich. (WTVG) - The Monroe County Intermediate School District says an investigation into three of its staff members found they engaged in misconduct and no longer work for the district.

The Monroe County Sheriff’s Office also launched an investigation into the three staff members. The office sent us its report that provides specific details about the alleged abuse against students.

13abc spoke to Precious Gonzales, the mother of one of the two alleged victims. She found out about what was happening to her non-verbal son a little more than a week ago.

“It was basically that he was being put in seclusion. I didn’t know how many times at first and then I found out that it was every day anywhere from two minutes to ten minutes,” says Gonzales. “They were either holding the door shut or they were locking him in it.”

The Sheriff’s Office report says a staff member at the Educational Center witnessed something on a visit to the classroom that disturbed her.

“She could hear the child screaming and kicking the door to the backroom within the classroom,” the report reads.

According to the report, this staff member reported the incident to her superiors who then conducted an investigation into the matter.

The room the victims were allegedly being put in used to be a bathroom. Staff members say the bathroom components were removed, and there was a tumbling-style mat on the floor to protect the students.

“The room the child was secluded in was a converted bathroom with no windows,” the report goes on to say. “The room did not have a window or other manner in which one could observe the child in the room.”

The report says the three staff members are a teacher, an aide and a program assistant. The aide and program assistant were fired while the teacher resigned before she could be fired. Both the aide and program assistant say in the report that they only placed students in the backroom at the teacher’s direction.

The Sheriff’s Office report reads “...the practice of placing the victims in the room was determined to be a form of discipline rather than a ‘therapy’ or treatment for the victim’s behavior. They found the practice of directing a student into the room to be in direct violation to the policies and procedures of the school. This is also not consistent with their training.”

The Monroe County Sheriff’s Office has forward this report to the Monroe County Prosecutor for review. The report states that the parents of both victims say they wish to seek prosecution.

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