Families sue Millsap ISD over alleged special needs student abuse and cover-up
Families sue Millsap ISD over alleged student abuse
Families are suing Millsap ISD and former staff members in Parker County over alleged abuse and cover-ups involving special needs students, leading to arrests and calls for systemic change.
MILLSAP, Texas - Several families in Parker County are now suing over a child abuse investigation involving a special needs student at Millsap ISD.
Three staff members were arrested, including the superintendent.
None of them work for the district anymore.
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What we know:
Carissa Cornelius is now suing Millsap ISD in Parker County and four former employees, claiming her nonverbal autistic boy was abused at the elementary school.
Employee whistleblower video from February shows Cornelius’ son, Alex, being yelled at, swatted at and repeatedly hit with a toy.
Cornelius shared the video with FOX 4, believing district officials were not taking it seriously.
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After our story aired, the two educators in the video, Jennifer Dale and Paxton Bean, were criminally charged. So was superintendent Edie Martin, for allegedly failing to report allegations to law enforcement and child protective services (CPS). All three defendants in the lawsuit.
Millsap Elementary Principal, Roxie Carter, is also a defendant in the lawsuit. Carter is Paxton Bean’s mother.
Lawsuit Details
Dig deeper:
The lawsuit claims Carter "allowed the abuse to continue until it was finally brought to light."
Carter submitted her resignation in May; however, she likely won’t face criminal charges.
On Wednesday, the Parker County Sheriff told FOX 4: "We’ve concluded our investigation."
The lawsuit claims: "[Superintendent] Martin and [Principal] Carter brushed the matter under the rug and instead contacted a law firm. Seemingly more concerned about legal repercussions than ending documented child abuse."
After Cornelius came forward, two other parents did the same and additional charges followed. Those two parents joined in on the lawsuit.
Allegations include: "locking children in unlit closets for extended periods of time, assaulting children with their hands, objects and other forceful measures" as well as verbal abuse.
What they're saying:
"We just want to make sure that this can’t happen to anybody else," said Carissa Cornelius. "Use this as an example to other districts that it is not O.K. to cover up the abuse of our children."
Cornelius says since removing Alex from Millsap Elementary school, he has been achieving milestones.
"Totally different as far as his education goes. He actually wrote his name and I went and got it tattooed on my arm because I never thought he would write his name."
What's next:
Millsap ISD says it has not yet been served with the lawsuit that was filed yesterday.
Millsap ISD has since established a nepotism policy.
The Source: Information in this article was provided by previous FOX 4 reporting.