A five-year-old Albuquerque, New Mexico boy with special needs was allegedly tied up by an educational assistant when he wouldn’t sit down for a timeout.
Terrance Johnson was supposed to be sitting down for a timeout on Monday when an EA decided to tie a rope around his waist to get him to oblige to the EA’s order.
According to KOB News, Terrance has trouble communicating and was unable to tell his mother Nicole what happened.
The principal of the school did inform Terrance’s mother about the incident, however, Johnson says it wasn’t until the next day.
“I was first torn apart. I couldn’t believe it,” Johnson told KOB. “I couldn’t wrap my mind around it.”
Johnson is afraid her son may have been deeply affected by the event.
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“I’m pretty sure he’s internalized it,” told Johnson to KOB. “How he’s coping with it, I’m not sure, because he’s unable to communicate his thoughts and feelings.”
“To tie a rope around an African-American child, I just think it’s completely unacceptable. It’s like modern day lynching for these kids to see that, and for his peers to witness that and think it’s OK,” she added.
The school Terrance attends sent a statement to KOB saying that if what is alleged happened, the actions by the EA were unacceptable, reading in part:
“This behavior, if found to be true, is totally unacceptable and the accused employee was placed on paid administrative leave on Tuesday pending the outcome of an investigation.”
The teacher of the classroom was also placed on leave pending the allegations.
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