KEMP, Texas — A Kemp Independent School District teacher was arrested and charged with injuring a student who is autistic and nonverbal, according to an arrest warrant affidavit obtained by inForney.com.
KEMP, Texas — A Kemp Independent School District teacher was arrested and charged with injuring a student who is autistic and nonverbal, according to an arrest warrant affidavit obtained by inForney.com.
The incident occurred on Friday, February 24, 2023, at Kemp Intermediate School, according to the affidavit, and Kemp ISD officials were made aware on Monday, February 27.
"Kemp ISD Administration and the appropriate authorities immediately began reviewing the concern and placed the employee of interest on administrative leave," read a statement from the district in response to an inForney.com inquiry. "The District Administration takes any school employee allegation seriously and is committed to a thorough, fair, and cooperative review of all information with appropriate authorities."
The Kaufman County Sheriff's Office was notified to assist in the investigation on Tuesday, February 28, 2023.
An investigator with the sheriff's office reviewed in-classroom video of the incident and observed the student, who is younger than 14 years of age, autistic, nonverbal, and who was enrolled in a special education class at Kemp Intermediate.
According to the affidavit, the investigator observed the student begin to have an "episode" based on audio and video reviewed.
"During the incident, the offender Rachel Persons, can be seen grabbing the victim by his arm and slinging him to the side and onto the ground," reads the affidavit. "After the child is on the ground, the offender can be seen standing over the victim and the victim has his head between her legs for a couple minutes. The entire time this is taking place, the victim is screaming and is continuing his episode."
Upon review of a second camera angle from the classroom on March 2, 2023, the investigator further observed that after the victim was struck on the side of the head, Persons stepped on the victims hand.
"You can see her foot make 2 to 3 shifts to the side as if she were intentionally trying to step on his hand," continues the affidavit. "The victim struggles to pull free and is seen shoving his shoulder into her lower leg trying to push it off his hand."
"Also visible on this camera footage is the offender grabbing the victim by his hair and pulling his head up and backwards," read the affidavit. "After she lets go of his hair, the offender is seen grabbing the victim by his face/nose area in a pinching manner while she is scolding him."
34-year-old Persons, who is a resident of Eustace, was arrested on March 8, 2023, and charged with injury to a child, elderly, or disabled with intent to cause bodily injury, a third-degree felony. She was released from the Kaufman County Jail the same day after posting a $10,000 bond.
"Kemp ISD Administration understands that employee matters can raise concerns, especially within our community," read a statement from Kemp ISD. "We want to assure parents, students, and staff that we are taking all appropriate measures to address this matter. We are committed to ensuring that our schools are safe and welcoming for all students and staff."