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January 21, 2005
Interviews show aides complained repeatedly about alleged abuse
January 21, 2005 [Associated Press]
SANFORD, Fla. - Teacher's aides at a central Florida middle school complained several times over five years that a special needs teacher was abusing autistic students, an investigator's interviews showed.
The four aides told John Byerly, a Seminole County school district investigator, that they saw incidents of abuse and reported several to administrators at South Seminole Middle School. But their complaints about veteran teacher Kathleen Garrett, 48, seemed to be ignored, the aides said.
"It was only my word against hers and nothing was done, so I stopped saying anything about it," said Sabrina Mort, an aide in Garrett's room for three years.
Garrett, 48, has pleaded not guilty to five counts of child abuse, for which she faces up to 75 years in prison if convicted. She was arrested in November after Mort and another aide in the classroom made one more try and complained to Robin Dehlinger, the school's new principal. Dehlinger called authorities.
The charges against Garrett include breaking one student's teeth, locking another in a dark closet, and abusing three others by hitting them, bending back their fingers and jabbing them with her elbows.
Garrett has resigned, and the Florida Department of Education is investigating whether to revoke her teaching certificate.
The four aides were suspended with pay pending an investigation, which is ongoing.
Posted by Nancy at January 21, 2005 12:10 AM