PRELIMINARY HEARING: Abuse recalled in court

Teacher hurt autistic kids, aide testifies
By K.C. HOWARD
REVIEW-JOURNAL
Oct. 11, 2007

Latasha Burse was working as a teacher's aide in a classroom of autistic students at Reed Elementary School in March when she heard a loud bang.

Burse testified in Justice Court on Wednesday that she turned around and saw the teacher, Mamie Hubbard-Washington, with her hand on the back of a 9-year-old autistic boy's neck.

Burse surmised that the teacher had just slammed the child's face onto the top of a table.

The boy, Matthew, was crying, which was uncharacteristic for him, Burse said.

Hubbard-Washington told the child to stop crying and left for lunch. Burse and another teacher's aide cleaned Matthew's mouth in the bathroom and took him to eat.

"His tooth was chipped, and his lip was bleeding," Burse said.

It was one of several suspicious injuries Matthew suffered in Hubbard-Washington's class that spring, prompting his mother to pull him out of the school before the end of the school year.

Hubbard-Washington, 64, is facing five felony charges of child abuse and neglect for injuries authorities allege she inflicted on her autistic students at Reed in 2006 and 2007. Wednesday was the second and final day of testimony in her preliminary hearing that will determine whether she will stand trial on the charges.

Burse and another teacher's aide testified Wednesday that they saw Hubbard-Washington hit, pinch, push and verbally abuse the children.

Parents testified on the first day of the hearing, Sept. 26, that after their children were placed in Hubbard-Washington's class, they started coming home with bruises on their hands, back or abdomen.

Because of their autism, many of the children do not speak.

Hubbard-Washington's attorney, Vince Consul, has said the allegations raised by the teacher's aides and parents aren't specific enough. They cannot, for instance, cite the dates on which much of the alleged abuse occurred.

Consul also said it can't be proven that the injuries occurred at the hands of Hubbard-Washington rather than on the playground or school bus.

Hubbard-Washington has denied the allegations, saying she has taught special education students since 1985 and had never been accused of abuse until now. The allegations are spurred by greed, she said, noting the parents are planning to file a lawsuit against the Clark County School District.

Aram Kouyoumdjian, an attorney representing the families, attended both days of the preliminary hearing. He said Wednesday that no suit had been filed.

Burse said she began to notice the teacher's abusive behavior a few months after Hubbard-Washington arrived at the school in January 2006.

She said she reported what she saw to her supervisor, Assistant Principal Randy Cheung.
Burse said it seemed as though the school's administrators were constantly investigating the teacher.

"The principal and assistant principal were in our room all the time," Burse said.

Cheung was set to testify for the defense Wednesday, but Justice of the Peace William Jansen advised him to speak with an attorney first because of potential civil litigation against the district.

The principal, Karen Bennett, previously testified that school officials initially had difficulties verifying some of the complaints raised by the aides and parents. After spending weeks investigating, school officials took the allegations to school district police on May 2. The district placed Hubbard-Washington on administrative leave on May 4.

Burse said Matthew was the first student she saw Hubbard-Washington go after. The teacher would hit Matthew "full force" with a yardstick "anywhere below the neck," Burse said.

She said she also saw Hubbard-Washington hit a student named Chris, who would often bang his head against his desk. Burse said Hubbard-Washington hit him on the head with a closed fist.
She recalled Hubbard-Washington telling the boy, "You better stop hitting your head or else I'll hit you."

On March 20, Burse said, Chris was cramming pizza into his mouth and Hubbard-Washington grabbed him by the back of the neck and "pushed his head into the trash can until he swallowed his food."

Burse also recalled Hubbard-Washington brushing the hair of the only girl in the classroom, a 7-year-old. But if the girl, Joanna, started to cry, Hubbard-Washington would strike her on the head with the brush, Burse said.

Another teacher's aide, Shari Pedrol-Little, testified that she left Hubbard-Washington's classroom in November 2006 after suffering a nervous breakdown.

She said Hubbard-Washington created a tense environment when she yelled at the children in the classroom, prompting them to act out.

In court, Pedrol-Little had to review her May statement to police to recall most of Hubbard-Washington's alleged abuses. The breakdown, she said, had affected her memory.

She said she witnessed Hubbard-Washington calling Joanna fat and at other times forcing food into her mouth.

She also recalled that Hubbard-Washington would hit Matthew with a yardstick and would strike the girl on the head with a brush "and tell her to shut up" if she began crying.

Jansen said he wants to review transcripts of the hearing before he listens to closing arguments and decides whether Hubbard-Washington will face the charges in District Court.

Consul and prosecutors Vicki Monroe and Noreen Nyikos are to argue the case before the judge on Oct. 31.

Contact reporter K.C. Howard at khoward@reviewjournal.com or (702) 380-1039.