MARYLAND HEIGHTS, Mo. – Two Special School District of St. Louis County paraprofessionals are arrested, accused of assaulting three non-verbal children.
A court filing from the Maryland Heights Police Department says Charnita Thomas and Angelette Boleyjack-Calhoun committed the crimes on March 25 in the gymnasium of the Academy of Innovation at Remington in the Pattonville School District.
The filing says that Thomas was seen on camera shoving a 7-year-old child with autism, causing him to fall to the floor.
It says Thomas also shoved the child into a closet and blocked him in, “shoving him back in the closet when he attempts to crawl out.”
Later, police say Thomas approached a 5-year-old and pulled her by her arm for approximately 40 feet.
Court records say it was just a couple of minutes later when Boleyjack-Calhoun pulled a 7-year-old off of a scooter and appeared to shove him to the ground.
Both suspects are charged with misdemeanor assault.
“They were autistic, non-verbal. The prosecutor decided to elevate the assault charge to include a special victim status on that,” said Det. Ben Berges with the Maryland Heights Police Department.
Attorney Grant Boyd represents the family of one of the 7-year-olds.
“When you have a child who maybe can’t report fluidly when incidents of abuse are happening, it scares a parent when something like this happens because, what else don’t we know?” Boyd asked.
Both suspects are employees of the Special School District who were assigned to the Academy of Innovation at Remington.
Pattonville School district declined an interview but sent FOX 2 a statement.
Chief Communications Officer Kelly Gordon said the district immediately began an investigation and contacted the division of children’s services when it learned of the alleged behavior.
“We believe every student deserves to learn in an environment that is safe, supportive and respectful. We are committed to upholding those standards in every school and classroom. We are deeply troubled by allegations of employee behavior that do not align with our expectations to ensure student well-being,” Gordon said.
The Special School District says both employees are on administrative leave pending the investigation.
The district also declined an interview but sent FOX 2 a written statement.
“We take these allegations very seriously as they do not align with the standards we expect from our staff. We hold our employees to high standards, requiring them to undergo thorough background checks and participate in ongoing training to ensure they foster a safe and supportive learning environment for all students,” Chief Communications Officer Jennifer Henry said.