A paraeducator in Montgomery County was charged with child abuse Monday after she was accused of kicking an elementary-school-aged child with autism in the chest because the boy drank some of her soda.
Meleni Hoffman, 32, faces felony abuse and misdemeanor assault charges in Rockville District Court, where she is scheduled for a hearing next month.
Hoffman, who has not been arrested, did not respond to messages left on a publicly listed phone number. As of Wednesday, a lawyer was not listed as representing her in court records.
Investigators say that on April 9, at Candlewood Elementary, Hoffman took out a snack “that interested the kids in the class,” causing them to gather around her. One child ran over and “took a sip of her soda,” police said.
“No!” Hoffman yelled and kicked the student in the chest, causing him to fall, according to charging documents.
Montgomery County Police said two staff members, including another paraeducator, witnessed the incident. Investigators have not said how old the boy is.
A paraeducator, sometimes referred to as a teacher’s aide, is a school employee who is supervised by teachers and assists with classroom instruction.
Police began their investigation after the child’s mother reported the alleged assault, according to charging documents. Though she picked up her son from the Rockville campus, with the help of school faculty, she said she wasn’t told about the incident until an assistant principal called her about 15 minutes later.
That administrator, who was not named, said that at about 12:30 p.m. that day, the boy had “lunged” for a paraeducator’s soda and was kicked in the stomach before another staff member intervened, according to charging documents.
The mother told police that she had asked who the paraeducator was. But the assistant principal would not say, explaining that the school doesn’t do investigations and that they had contacted Child Protective Services.
Police said the mother took her child, who is non-verbal, to an urgent care for a check-up.
The mother called police again the next day and said a CPS caseworker had identified Hoffman as the paraeducator, according to charging documents.
It was not clear what disciplinary action, if any, was taken after the alleged kick.
A spokesperson for the county school system did not respond to several questions about the incident on Wednesday.
Have a news tip? Contact Luke Parker at lparker@baltsun.com, 410-725-6214, on X as @lparkernews or on Signal as @parkerluke.34.
from Baltimore Sun https://ift.tt/M2sQqYn
via IFTTT
