Six charged for abusing autistic child at school

"Missouri Schools for the Severely Disabled will ensure students learn functional academic skills in a safe environment to be integrated into their home, community, leisure and work," proclaims the student handbook at Ozarks Horizon State School. For one 13-year-old nonverbal autistic student, the school was not a safe environment. 

Six female staff members have been charged with abuse or neglect of a child and first degree endangering the welfare of a child creating a substantial risk, both Class D felonies. The charges stem from incidents that occurred from March 7 through 16, according to court documents. 

A Children's Division employee reported credible allegations of abuse and mishandling of the student to Officer Tessa Jens of the West Plains Police Department on March 28.

"[Children's Division] conducted an investigation into the allegations and found them to be true," reads Officer Jens' probable cause statement.

This initial investigation was prompted by an anonymous hotline call. Police reviewed surveillance footage from a classroom at the school and discovered multiple instances of abuse and taunting of the disabled boy by six school employees. Court documents say six employees were fired from Ozarks Horizon State School as a result of the school's internal investigation into the abuse. 

Karen Gore, 49, of Mountain View, was employed as a teacher's aide. Officers Jens' report accuses Gore of assaulting the child approximately six times from March 7 through 16 by using her body weight to pin the child's head, neck, and chest against a desk. She is also alleged to have repeatedly hit him in the face with a pillow, shoved him, and pulled his hair, asking "Yeah? That hurts a little, doesn't it?" 

Teresita Huddleston, 63, of Birch Tree, was employed as a teacher. She is accused of assaulting the boy on three separate occasions on March 16, using her body weight to pin his head, neck, and chest to a desk. 

"At one point Huddleston can be observed purposely kicking him in the shin as she approaches him," reads the probable cause statement. 

Barbara Stark, 52, of Winona, was employed as a teacher's aide/bus driver. Stark is accused of assaulting the boy twice on March 16. Surveillance footage shows her pinning the child down in the manner described above, but also "the child is observed throwing an item and Stark responded by charging at the child and knocking him out of his seat, causing him to fall and hit the wall."

Cheryl O'Farrell-Silva, 59, of Willow Springs, was employed as a teacher's aide. O'Farrell-Silva was observed assaulting the child three times on March 16 by pinning him down. The video footage also shows her pushing the boy into his seat, "jerking him backwards into his seat by his shirt, and yelling at the child just inches from his ear."

Two other women Vernetta Burgess, 63, and Barbara Baker, 44, both of West Plains have been charged because classroom footage shows them observe the child to have been assaulted by other staff members on multiple occasions without interfering. Probable cause statements for both Burgess and Baker identify them as mandated reporters, and they have been charged with the same child abuse and endangerment charges as the others. 

"Ozark Horizon School places the safety of students as a top priority," reads a statement from the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) on behalf of the school. "Staff members are trained to protect students and to identify and report allegations of abuse and neglect."

The Howell County Prosecuting Attorney's office filed charges against the six women on August 10. The probable cause statements for the six defendants are all dated April 19. 

There are no court dates pending as of press time. West Plains Police Department confirmed the defendants were never taken into custody. 

In a statement Monday morning, DESE confirmed the six women above are no longer employed by Ozark Horizons School or DESE. They declined to comment on these specific abuse allegations but did say, "Potential child abuse and neglect investigations are required by law." 

There are twenty severely disabled students enrolled at Ozarks Horizon School.