MEHLVILLE, Mo. – A child with special needs came home from school with bruises and scratches. His family blames a school aide and is demanding answers from the boy's district.
Tina Sargent told 5 On Your Side that one of her biggest fears was realized when she picked her son up from the bus Monday. Sargent said she got a phone call from Trautwein Elementary School saying that something had happened during gym class and that her 6-year-old, Braden, might have some marks.
Sargent said when she got home she found, “he had marks under both arms, fingernail marks on each shoulder and he had a scratch on his face.”
"My son is 6-years-old, non-verbal and has down syndrome and I don’t want this to happen to anyone else,” she said.
Sargent said that Braden has an aide at school, someone who goes with him from class to class. There are also assistant teachers in the classroom through the St. Louis Special School District.
5 On Your Side was told that one of the SSD employees was reported to school officials. SSD works separately from the Mehlville School District.
"They have not been able to give me any person’s name, or how it happened, when it happened, has it happened before?" Sargent asked.
5 On Your Side reached out to SSD, who said it cannot comment on a specific student or staff member.
But, in an email statement, it said, “if an allegation of inappropriate behavior should occur, an employee is immediately removed from the school environment and an investigation is conducted.”
But, Sargent said she plans to stay home with her son until she finds out exactly what happened.
"It does not make me feel safe, because I was supposed to trust them from the beginning,” she said.
SSD said it has notified the Missouri Department of Social Services and that it is involved in the investigation.
