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3 school employees charged with child endangerment, involving a student eating own excrement [1]

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Date: 2022-11-25

Three individuals within the Liberty Independent School District, including a teacher and two instructional assistants, have been charged with four counts of child endangerment after a 5-year-old special needs student was abused last year. The individuals were 47-year-old Melody Michel LaPointe, who was recently a teacher at Bonnie P Harper Primary School near the Houston suburb of Baytown, 33-year-old Tarah Michelle Tinney, who was working at a medical office, and 27-year-old Augusta Danielle Costlow.

Last year, the said Liberty ISD employees were holding the 5-year-old child in an isolation room, even to the point where the student ingested his own excrement and urine after being deprived of food.

According to the indictments against the three women, in April 2021, they placed “the child in imminent danger of death, bodily injury, or physical or mental impairment, namely by confining [a 5-year-old student] … to an isolation room where he fell causing bodily injury, and the defendant[s] did not voluntarily deliver the child to a designated emergency infant care provider.” Subsequent indictments allege that their actions also led to the child being deprived of food, and allowed to ingest his own urine and feces. Sources close to the case say the child was left alone in an isolated room for hours at a time.

Attorney Cynthia Buechler, who is a part of Austin law firm Buechler and Associates, issued a statement on behalf of the Liberty Independent School District.

Providing a safe and caring educational environment for our children is Liberty ISD’s first priority. When we initially were made aware of potential concerns regarding some educators’ interactions with one of our students, we immediately reported the matter to law enforcement and CPS. We removed the educators, who continued to work for us, from the classroom, and conducted a comprehensive investigation. Based upon our investigation, we reported the educators to the State Board for Educator Certification and shared our results with law enforcement officials. Upon completion of the investigation back in 2021, none of the individuals continued in our employment from that time forward. Liberty ISD is continuing to work with the Liberty County District Attorney’s office for the benefit of our children.

In addition, Maria Rosas, the principal for Bonnie P Harper Primary School, made a statement in light of the events.

In an effort of full transparency, we want to inform our families of an incident that occurred yesterday during dismissal. A teacher at Bonnie P. Hopper Primary School was arrested yesterday by Liberty County constables. The cause for arrest occurred in Liberty County and is not affiliated with Goose Creek CISD in any way. The teacher is currently placed on administrative leave pending the outcome of an investigation, after which the District will take appropriate action. As this is a pending legal matter, Goose Creek CISD will allow the legal process to proceed and refrain from any further comment. We want to ensure our families that the safety and security of your children is our #1 concern. We thank you for your continuous support of our campus and our district.

However, some are wondering why a person like Melody LaPointe was hired as a teacher in the first place. LaPointe, by the way, has an investigatory flag on her Texas Educator Certificate, per the Texas Education Agency (TEA).

"I am scared to send my daughter to school," Amanda Henry, who has a 6-year-old daughter at Hopper Primary, said. "You are supposed to send them there to be protected, and they hire this lady who apparently they did not do an extensive background check on and hurt a child, left this child locked up in a room, having to eat his own feces and drink his own urine. It's disturbing." [...] "This happened a year ago," Henry said. "What process did they even go through? Obviously, it's not an extensive one, so that concerns me for anyone hired in the future."

All three individuals involved in the abuse of the 5-year-old special needs student are now held at the Liberty County Jail, with bond being set at $60,000 per person.

Liberty Independent School District is a school district located 45 minutes northeast of Downtown Houston; the school district serves Liberty, Ames, and Moss Bluff.

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[1] Url: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2022/11/25/2138353/-3-school-employees-charged-with-child-endangerment-involving-a-student-eating-own-excrement

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