Justice for William, an 8 yr old boy with Down syndrome abused by school aide in Texas
UPDATE: You are not going to believe this!! Please SIGN THIS PETITION - We have to get this to go viral so we can get national attention!!
Apr 6, 2015: Taken from the public FB page "Justice for William", here is what the mother, my friend Maggie, had to say after meeting with the Asst DA and the lead prosecutor:
We went to the DA's office with our lawyer and met with two prosecutors. They took us to a conference room with them and Raphael and I watched the video several more times. They could not allow our attorney to see the video because Spring Branch ISD technically owns the video and they don't want our lawyer to see it. (EVERYONE thought this was HIGHLY unusual by the way.) Despite unanswered questions, valid points, tears and pleading, the bottom line is this: WILLIAM DID NOT SUFFER BODILY INJURY. HE DID NOT CRY OR EXPRESS PAIN. SO NO CHARGES. The prosecutors told us that they were disturbed by the video, it was unfortunate and they were relieved that the employee was terminated, but at most they could charge her with a CLASS C misdemeanor. We explained that not all people process pain the same way, some kids are neurologically programmed differently and that this probably wasn't the first time she had done this to him either etc.....but it fell on deaf ears. Greg Groogan will feature an interview with us tonight at 5:00 on FOX 26.
BACKGROUND: On February 11, 2015, William, an 8 year old who has Down syndrome and is mostly non-verbal, was violently attacked at Wilchester Elementary school by the paraprofessional assigned to help him. The attack was caught on a hallway surveillance camera, showing undeniable evidence that she shook him with her hands around his throat and then she forcibly shoved him to the ground. There was also a staff witness, who notified the principal, yet no one told the parents about the attack or called the police until 8 days later. Although the aide was eventually fired, the Harris County District Attorney has decided not to press criminal charges due to no sign of injury!
1. We, the undersigned, are demanding that the District Attorney reconsider their decision of non-action and send this case to a Grand Jury for proper review!
2. We, the undersigned, are demanding that the District Attorney lead prosecutor require the school to release the surveillance video to Child Protective Services.
VIEW THE NEWS REPORT (copy/paste into your browser): http://www.myfoxhouston.com/story/28626973/no-charges-against-educator-caught-mistreating-disabled-kid
Quote from Greg
Groogan's report from Fox26News on 3/26/2015:
“Without any way to prove the complainant had bodily injury, there can
be no probably cause, no charge and certainly no proof beyond a reasonable
doubt that a crime occurred.” ~Jeff
McShan, Harris Co. D.A. Office
The Child Protective Services investigator assigned to the case said for the first time in his career, a school district refused to show him the video evidence.
We don't believe that the Spring Branch ISD Police Dept. conducted a fair, impartial investigation.
We also don't believe the District Attorney got all of the facts and evidence from the SBISD Police Department.
Right now, the attacker is free to continue working with children. Please help to bring this woman to trial!
Updates
Reached 2,500 supporters
April 2, 2015
Reached 1,000 supporters
April 1, 2015
April 1, 2015
The prosecutors told us that what happened to William does not warrant charges because he did not show pain in the way they expect. It is exhausting to fight a system that refuses to understand him, but we are pushing toward twenty-five hundred signatures to show them that we are not going away.
Reached 100 supporters
April 1, 2015
April 1, 2015
The response from the prosecutors is a gut punch but we have to keep pushing forward. I need you to send this link to a few people today so we can clear this first milestone. We cannot let them ignore what happened to William.
3,629 Comments
Unacceptable on all kinds of levels. I have a younger sister who has Downs, and if anyone ever did that to her, they would never see the light of dayEVER!!!!!!! Poor sweet sweet boy!! Put that lady behind bars. She should never be around children again.
This makes me so sick to my stomach. I am the mother of a little boy with Down syndrome and if I found out this happened to my little boy this woman would not only lose her job but would also be shown the same treatment that she showed this sweet boy.
others have been hunted down for lessor crimes. your witness is the video of this horrific crime. in another school district it's considered a felony. This was a hands on assault. To not prosecute is a crime...one that will be remembered by many.
A great fear of mine as a mother with a special needs child. Even if they are verbal, sometimes its hard for them to communicate it. We put a lot of trust in the teachers who work with our kids and this should not be something we need to worry about.
Unacceptable. The aide needs to have more discipline than just her termination. And shame on the principal for not doing anything resembling Leadership. She is the leader of that school, as such she sets the tone for what is and is not acceptable.
That is so bad
She needs worse done to her!
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Justice for William, an 8 yr old boy with Down syndrome abused by school aide in Texas
UPDATE: You are not going to believe this!! Please SIGN THIS PETITION - We have to get this to go viral so we can get national attention!!
Apr 6, 2015: Taken from the public FB page "Justice for William", here is what the mother, my friend Maggie, had to say after meeting with the Asst DA and the lead prosecutor:
We went to the DA's office with our lawyer and met with two prosecutors. They took us to a conference room with them and Raphael and I watched the video several more times. They could not allow our attorney to see the video because Spring Branch ISD technically owns the video and they don't want our lawyer to see it. (EVERYONE thought this was HIGHLY unusual by the way.) Despite unanswered questions, valid points, tears and pleading, the bottom line is this: WILLIAM DID NOT SUFFER BODILY INJURY. HE DID NOT CRY OR EXPRESS PAIN. SO NO CHARGES. The prosecutors told us that they were disturbed by the video, it was unfortunate and they were relieved that the employee was terminated, but at most they could charge her with a CLASS C misdemeanor. We explained that not all people process pain the same way, some kids are neurologically programmed differently and that this probably wasn't the first time she had done this to him either etc.....but it fell on deaf ears. Greg Groogan will feature an interview with us tonight at 5:00 on FOX 26.
BACKGROUND: On February 11, 2015, William, an 8 year old who has Down syndrome and is mostly non-verbal, was violently attacked at Wilchester Elementary school by the paraprofessional assigned to help him. The attack was caught on a hallway surveillance camera, showing undeniable evidence that she shook him with her hands around his throat and then she forcibly shoved him to the ground. There was also a staff witness, who notified the principal, yet no one told the parents about the attack or called the police until 8 days later. Although the aide was eventually fired, the Harris County District Attorney has decided not to press criminal charges due to no sign of injury!
1. We, the undersigned, are demanding that the District Attorney reconsider their decision of non-action and send this case to a Grand Jury for proper review!
2. We, the undersigned, are demanding that the District Attorney lead prosecutor require the school to release the surveillance video to Child Protective Services.
VIEW THE NEWS REPORT (copy/paste into your browser): http://www.myfoxhouston.com/story/28626973/no-charges-against-educator-caught-mistreating-disabled-kid
Quote from Greg
Groogan's report from Fox26News on 3/26/2015:
“Without any way to prove the complainant had bodily injury, there can
be no probably cause, no charge and certainly no proof beyond a reasonable
doubt that a crime occurred.” ~Jeff
McShan, Harris Co. D.A. Office
The Child Protective Services investigator assigned to the case said for the first time in his career, a school district refused to show him the video evidence.
We don't believe that the Spring Branch ISD Police Dept. conducted a fair, impartial investigation.
We also don't believe the District Attorney got all of the facts and evidence from the SBISD Police Department.
Right now, the attacker is free to continue working with children. Please help to bring this woman to trial!
Updates
Reached 2,500 supporters
April 2, 2015
Reached 1,000 supporters
April 1, 2015
April 1, 2015
The prosecutors told us that what happened to William does not warrant charges because he did not show pain in the way they expect. It is exhausting to fight a system that refuses to understand him, but we are pushing toward twenty-five hundred signatures to show them that we are not going away.
Reached 100 supporters
April 1, 2015
April 1, 2015
The response from the prosecutors is a gut punch but we have to keep pushing forward. I need you to send this link to a few people today so we can clear this first milestone. We cannot let them ignore what happened to William.
3,629 Comments
This is discriminiation of the worst kind. The justice system should be there to protect those without a voice, perhaps even more so than those who can articulate for themselves when they have been wronged. Standing with this family in solidarity!
Unacceptable on all kinds of levels. I have a younger sister who has Downs, and if anyone ever did that to her, they would never see the light of dayEVER!!!!!!! Poor sweet sweet boy!! Put that lady behind bars. She should never be around children again.
This makes me so sick to my stomach. I am the mother of a little boy with Down syndrome and if I found out this happened to my little boy this woman would not only lose her job but would also be shown the same treatment that she showed this sweet boy.
others have been hunted down for lessor crimes. your witness is the video of this horrific crime. in another school district it's considered a felony. This was a hands on assault. To not prosecute is a crime...one that will be remembered by many.
A great fear of mine as a mother with a special needs child. Even if they are verbal, sometimes its hard for them to communicate it. We put a lot of trust in the teachers who work with our kids and this should not be something we need to worry about.
Unacceptable. The aide needs to have more discipline than just her termination. And shame on the principal for not doing anything resembling Leadership. She is the leader of that school, as such she sets the tone for what is and is not acceptable.
That is so bad
She needs worse done to her!
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This is discriminiation of the worst kind. The justice system should be there to protect those without a voice, perhaps even more so than those who can articulate for themselves when they have been wronged. Standing with this family in solidarity!