Abuse & Torture in A Sarasota Special Ed Classroom

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Police say teacher abused students

Staff Report

Published Friday, Feb. 22, 2008 at 8:38 a.m.

VENICE — A Venice Elementary School teacher is under arrest this

morning, charged with the abuse of mentally handicapped students in

her classroom.

Venice police say Z. O'Neill hit

students on more than one occasion, kicked a child and twisted a

child's arm behind his back.Two teacher aides in O'Neill's

classroom came forward because they were concerned that the students

were in danger, according to police.One of the aides gave school officials a written log of the incidents of alleged abuse.Police documents list four of the five students in O'Neill's classroom as victims in the case.The school district placed O'Neill on administrative leave last week.She turned herself in at the Venice Police Department on Thursday. She's charged with four counts of aggravated child abuse.Police reports say that O’Neill routinely hurt four of the students in her class.Girl, 7, punished with "body sock"

Parents

of a 7-year-old girl, who has the motor skills of an 11- to

14-month-old child, say the teacher’s physical abuse caused their

daughter to lose enthusiasm. She had trouble sleeping and became

quick-tempered, police reports state.Aides reported O’Neill had

kicked the girl in the legs, hit her in the head with objects, pushed

her to the floor and used a “weighted blanket” and a “body sock” — two

therapy tools that restrict movement — to punish her.The aides

told police that O’Neill told the girl to get out of a chair on Oct. 12

and gave her “a good push,” causing the girl to trip and hit her head

on the floor so hard she started to cry, although she rarely cries.The

girl went to the school nurse, who filled out an incident report based

on what O’Neill told her — that the girl “tripped on chair leg — fell

backwards on floor,” police records state.The aides told police

O’Neill struck the girl numerous times in December, including three

times with a board and with her hand on Dec. 5; with her hand, an arm

brace and twice with a binder on Dec. 12; with an arm brace on Dec. 17;

and with a water bottle on Jan. 14.When O’Neill pushed the girl

on Jan. 18, she hit her head on a metal door frame and caused a lump,

but O’Neill reported the girl “fell into a wall” and had “zero sign of

head injury, applied ice,” police said.A week later, O’Neill got

out a blue weighted blanket and wrapped up the girl from head to toe

with her hands at her side, and then let her go, one aide told police.The

girl lost her balance and hit her head as she fell to the floor, police

reported. As she tried to free herself, she hit the base of a swing,

and O’Neill chuckled, the aide told police.O’Neill also used the

body sock to cover the girl, pinning her arms to her sides, then gave

her a little push, and the girl fell into a shelf and hit her head, the

aide told police.The girl’s parents told police that since

O’Neill was removed from the classroom, the girl has been happier, more

verbal, more social, a better sleeper and less aggressive when agitated.Autistic boy allowed to hit head on wall

A

boy in O’Neill’s class who is diagnosed with autism, seizure disorder

and developmental delay, has the abilities of a 15- to 24-month-old

child, police reports said. His mother says the boy does not know right

from wrong in most cases, and has little understanding of consequences.Aides

told police that O’Neill would wheel his chair into the corner when the

boy acted up at lunch, leaving him there. The boy would respond by

hitting his head on the wall and O’Neill would say sarcastically,

“don’t hit your head,” but allowed him to continue.Once in the

corner of the cafeteria, out of sight of most people, O’Neill would

also twist his arm behind him or twist fingers until he cried out in

pain, the aides said.There is a chair the boy can be restrained in as an alternative way to control him, the aides said.The

boy has his own nurse with him at all times because of a seizure

disorder, but O’Neill would not allow the nurse in the classroom

because she said he is a distraction to learning, the aides said.Girl backhanded in head, reports say

An

11-year-old girl who is in a wheelchair, who had half of her brain

removed when she was 11 months old, still has a soft spot in her head

where the sections of the skull do not meet. She is also prone

to seizures.O’Neill backhanded the girl in the head, fed her in

a rough manner that caused the girl’s lip to bleed and degraded her in

front of others, according to police reports.An aide told police

that O’Neill was feeding the girl on Jan. 28 and backhanded her in the

head when the girl did not follow prompts to choose between a bite of

food or a sip of her drink.The aide said O’Neill would ram the spoon in the girl’s mouth during meals so hard that her gums bled.Boy, 8, came home with bruises

An

8-year-old boy in O’Neill’s class has Down syndrome and a seizure

disorder. His mother told police he has come home from school with

bruises on the back of his thighs.The aides told police O’Neill

has hit him in the head with a variety of objects, kicked him in the

buttocks, slapped him and pulled a rag from his mouth so hard that it

removed a tooth.O’Neill also used a gait belt as a leash that left bruises and scratches on the boy’s back and neck.The

boy just learned to walk and gets tired, and one day O’Neill placed a

cloth belt across his chest and under his arms when he sat down on the

floor to rest, the aides told police.O’Neill used the belt to yank the boy to his feet several times, telling him, “You’re going to stand,” aides told police.Another

time, the boy bit down on a wash cloth O’Neill was using to clean out

his mouth and she yanked it out so hard that a bottom tooth went flying

over her right shoulder, the aides told police.

Last modified: Friday, Feb. 22, 2008 at 2:51 p.m.

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