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The incident between the 7-year-old boy—who has a cognitive disability that affects his memory—and the five staff members of Brown Elementary School in Brownsburg, Indiana actually happened back in February.
However local authorities were not informed of the staff members' actions until recently.
Upon learning about the incident, the Brownsburg Community School Corporation put all of their staff on administrative leave while the police could investigate. One individual worked for a third party—Kids Count—so they were banned from school property.
You can watch the local news segment here:
In the news segment, the Captain of the Brownsburg Police Department described the footage on the security tapes.
They student was at lunch surrounded by the staff members in question. He stood up, looked like he was gagging, but was forced to sit back down.
Shortly thereafter he vomited all over the table and a tray placed in front of him by teacher Julie Taylor. Life Skills Instructional Aid Debra Kanipe then handed the student a spoon and made him eat a few bites of his vomit. He was forced to clean the rest of it up with paper towels.
Debra Kanipe and teacher Sara Seymour were both later charged with Neglect of a Dependent, a level 6 felony, as well as Failure to Report, a Class B Misdemeanor.
The Brownsburg Police Department issued a statement on their Facebook page about the horrifying incident.
Brownsburg Police Department/Facebook
The statement listed the individuals charged as well as their charges:
- Brown Elementary Life Skills Teacher Sara Seymour - Neglect of a Dependent as a Level 6 felony and Failure to Report, a Class B Misdemeanor
- Brown Elementary Life Skills Instructional Aid Debra Kanipe - Neglect of a Dependent as a Level 6 felony and Failure to Report, a Class B Misdemeanor
- Brown Elementary Life Skills Teacher Julie Taylor - Failure to Report, a Class B Misdemeanor
- Brown Elementary Life Skills Instructional Aid Kristen Mitchell - Failure to Report, a Class B Misdemeanor
- Kids Count Registered Behavioral Technician Megan King - Failure to Report, a Class B Misdemeanor
The statement included details of the alleged crime and a description of the surveillance video contents.
You can read the description of the video here:
Brownsburg Police Department/Facebook
The termination process was begun for Seymour and Kanipe—the two employees interacting directly with the child.
“Ultimately, the termination process for Seymour and Kanipe was initiated while the others remain on administrative leave pending the BCSC School Board rulings. The Kids Count employee remains unable to be on BCSC property.”
They outlined the involvement of the parties under investigation.
“As indicated in our probable cause affidavit, through the course of various interviews, and the review of other evidence, Seymour is said to have allegedly advised the victim that if he vomited, he would be required to eat what he threw up.”
“Taylor was present and provided a tray for the child to vomit on. After the victim did indeed vomit, Kanipe provided the spoon that the child was compelled to use to consume some of his vomit.”
“Both Seymour and Kanipe stood at each side of the child while he consumed a portion of the vomit. Mitchell and King were present and witnessed the incident.”
People everywhere were horrified at what happened to this 7-year-old boy.
“Literally sick to my stomach. I can’t even comprehend how demented your brain has to be to come up with something like this. That sweet boy. 💔” - @natashagolightly/YouTube
“My husband works as an RBT with children that need additional care (some are violent) and when I get home to tell him about this he's going to be enraged.”
“These are still people/kids that deserve common decency and respect. They should all be fired and blacklisted from working with children in the future at the very least.” - @rita8274/YouTube
“Need to tack some hate crimes on there. You know the kid's mentally disabled. You know he's gonna do whatever you tell him to. Pure evil. Pure hatred simple as that. They should be forced to eat their own you know what.” - @wirlessg1345/YouTube
Brownsburg Police Department/Facebook
Brownsburg Police Department/Facebook
Brownsburg Police Department/Facebook
Brownsburg Police Department/Facebook
Hopefully the child and his family received the help they need to recover from this abuse of power.