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Friday, March 29, 2024 | Back issues
Courthouse News Service Courthouse News Service

Teacher Accused Of Abusing Disabled Kids

SACRAMENTO (CN) - A Benicia High School special ed teacher and her aide tied a disabled student to his wheelchair, and left him "upside down with his injured foot in the air" for a long time, to punish the child "and for the amusement of Defendants," the child's parents claim in a federal class-action complaint. They claim the teacher and aide subjected their child, and others, to other "unhealthy, sub-human and humiliating conditions on several occasions".

The parents and students are identified only by initials in the complaint. They accuse Benicia H.S. teacher Karla Buckley of supervising the abuses, which allegedly occurred from 2004 through 2007. They claim the school nurse documented the abuse and reported it to Benicia Police, which "concluded the abuse had occurred, and referred the case to the Solano County District's Office for criminal prosecution," but the DA refused to prosecute.

All of the children involved are severely disabled. The parents claim Buckley's aide covered one child's hands with glue as punishment, and then watched his distress "in amusement."

They claim Buckley or her aide forced one child to walk after foot surgery "despite knowledge that his foot was injured and despite explicit instructions from his doctor that he was not to walk during recovery. Defendant's actions were motivated by personal animus toward DK for his disability related behaviors and for personal entertainment."

Parents claim the school principal and district superintendent refused to stop the abuses, or negligently permitted them.

Represented by Loughrey & Woelfel of Walnut Creek, the parents demand punitive damages.

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