By Charles Keeshan (Chicago) Daily Herald Staff Writer
Published: 7/15/2008 4:08 PM Updated: 7/15/2008 5:43 PM
A substitute teacher who taped a pair of rambunctious 8-year-old special education students to their seats was spared forced confinement himself Tuesday when a judge sentenced him to probation instead of prison on a pair of felony convictions.
Matthew Konetski, 32, of South Beloit, Ill., must serve two years probation, pay a $1,500 fine and perform 80 hours public service under the sentence handed down by a McHenry County judge.
The sentence comes about six weeks after a jury found Konetski guilty of aggravated battery and unlawful restraint for a March 2006 incident in which he taped one of his students at Harvard's Jefferson Elementary School to his seat, then put tape over the boy's mouth when the boy would not sit still.
The taping, according to trial testimony, lasted between two and five minutes.
Authorities initially charged Konetski with doing the same to a second student, but prosecutors opted not to go to trial on those allegations.
The mother of the boy whose case did go to trial said she is satisfied with the sentence.
"I never wanted to put him in jail," she said. "I just wanted him held accountable."
In a letter to the court, the mother said her son, who's been diagnosed with Pervasive Developmental Disorder, began acting out after the incident. At one point, she writes, the boy was hospitalized for more than 30 days.
"(He), 26 months later, still wakes up screaming 'Let me go!,' " the letter states.
During his trial, Konetski testified that he taped the boys as a last resort when they would not stop getting up in class. Although he was a first-year substitute with no special education training, Konetski was left alone with the special education students without two aides normally assigned to the class.
He apologized Tuesday for his actions, saying he never intended to harm or scare the boys.
"I was just trying to come up with a way to deal with a situation I didn't know how to deal with," he said.
County prosecutors had asked for a jail sentence along with the probation term, saying a stiff sentence would send a message to the public.
"(The victim) experienced being confined in his chair that day by this defendant," Assistant McHenry County State's Attorney Sharyl Eisenstein said. "We feel that he, in turn, should be confined in the McHenry County jail."
Konetski will not have to register as a sex offender because, Judge Sharon Prather ruled, there is no evidence his actions were sexually motivated.
Showing posts with label Duct Tape. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Duct Tape. Show all posts
Sunday, July 20, 2008
Thursday, June 5, 2008
Oregon teacher placed on paid leave after taping student to chair
Wednesday, June 4, 2008 3:49 PM PDT
By The Associated Press
OAKRIDGE, Ore. — A teacher in the Oakridge School District has been placed on paid administrative leave after allegedly taping a student to a chair because he wouldn't sit down.
Superintendent Don Kordosky declined to identify the teacher Tuesday, but confirmed she was removed from her Oakridge Elementary School classroom last week after the mother of a 9-year-old boy reported the May 28 incident.
The boy's mother, Becky Faile, does not have a listed phone number and could not be reached for comment Tuesday night. In interviews with local television stations, she said the teacher taped her son from his knees to his chest after he refused requests to sit down.
Faile said her son's poor behavior was not a strong enough reason for him to be humiliated in front of his peers. Faile said she has contacted a lawyer.
Under Oregon law, "a teacher may use reasonable physical force upon a student when and to the extent the teacher reasonably believes it is necessary to maintain order in the school or classroom."
It's unclear if masking tape is considered reasonable.
On the advice of her Oregon Education Association legal counsel, the Oakridge teacher is not commenting on the incident until district officials have provided her with the results of their investigation, said Dan Fisher, president of the Oakridge Teachers Association.
"It's a shame that the process has worked this way with the media coverage, because it's been almost a guilty until proven innocent thing," he said. "Even if she is totally cleared, she may never get her good name back."
http://www.tdn.com/articles/2008/06/04/breaking_news/doc4846bfd72a0ea265914603.txt
By The Associated Press
OAKRIDGE, Ore. — A teacher in the Oakridge School District has been placed on paid administrative leave after allegedly taping a student to a chair because he wouldn't sit down.
Superintendent Don Kordosky declined to identify the teacher Tuesday, but confirmed she was removed from her Oakridge Elementary School classroom last week after the mother of a 9-year-old boy reported the May 28 incident.
The boy's mother, Becky Faile, does not have a listed phone number and could not be reached for comment Tuesday night. In interviews with local television stations, she said the teacher taped her son from his knees to his chest after he refused requests to sit down.
Faile said her son's poor behavior was not a strong enough reason for him to be humiliated in front of his peers. Faile said she has contacted a lawyer.
Under Oregon law, "a teacher may use reasonable physical force upon a student when and to the extent the teacher reasonably believes it is necessary to maintain order in the school or classroom."
It's unclear if masking tape is considered reasonable.
On the advice of her Oregon Education Association legal counsel, the Oakridge teacher is not commenting on the incident until district officials have provided her with the results of their investigation, said Dan Fisher, president of the Oakridge Teachers Association.
"It's a shame that the process has worked this way with the media coverage, because it's been almost a guilty until proven innocent thing," he said. "Even if she is totally cleared, she may never get her good name back."
http://www.tdn.com/articles/2008/06/04/breaking_news/doc4846bfd72a0ea265914603.txt
Tuesday, February 12, 2008
Teacher Accused Of Duct-Taping Boy To Desk
Middle School Teacher Gets 10-Day Suspension
POSTED: 11:12 pm EST February 12, 2008
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- A middle school teacher accused of using duct tape to bind a student to his desk was suspended for more than a week without pay for the alleged incident.
The Duval County School Board voted on Tuesday to suspend Kasey Goodin for 10 days without pay.
The school board made its decision after hearing the teacher's version of what happened inside the Kirby-Smith Middle School classroom, WJXT reported.
The district said Goodin told investigators the taping incident was a joke.
However, board members didn't think it was funny.
"It's just not funny for a child to be taped, whether it's in jest or it's a disciplinary measure," said school board chair Betty Burney.
In Goodin's written account of what happened in the classroom, the teacher said, "There was a light-hearted mood in the class as I walked to the supply closet and removed a roll of purple duct tape and a roll of masking tape … The class was laughing. I was laughing. The student was laughing."
WJXT was told Goodin took that duct tape and taped the student's leg to his desk before she used the masking tape to tape his hands and his face.
"The masking tape was applied to the student's hands. The student immediately removed it, laughing throughout the incident. Within the next few minutes, the 'play' was over, the tape was removed," the teacher wrote in her statement.
She ended her account stating, "This incident, was in reality, an opportunity to have fun with the students while getting a message to them. Looking back, I know that it was inappropriate for me to break the lines of formality."
The student involved has since been removed from Goodin's classroom.
"The reason why we didn't go for something as severe as dismissal, it did appear at least it started out as something more lighthearted," said Duval County Superintendent Ed Pratt-Dannals.
Board members said the teaching position at Kirby is the teacher's first job and she has shown good behavior in the past.
"I understand that it was a young teacher. I just felt that we needed to send a stronger message," said Burney.
Burney was the only board member who voted against Goodin's 10-day suspension, saying she didn't think the punishment was harsh enough.
Board members also voted that the teacher should get counseling.
http://www.local6.com/news/15287294/detail.html
POSTED: 11:12 pm EST February 12, 2008
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- A middle school teacher accused of using duct tape to bind a student to his desk was suspended for more than a week without pay for the alleged incident.
The Duval County School Board voted on Tuesday to suspend Kasey Goodin for 10 days without pay.
The school board made its decision after hearing the teacher's version of what happened inside the Kirby-Smith Middle School classroom, WJXT reported.
The district said Goodin told investigators the taping incident was a joke.
However, board members didn't think it was funny.
"It's just not funny for a child to be taped, whether it's in jest or it's a disciplinary measure," said school board chair Betty Burney.
In Goodin's written account of what happened in the classroom, the teacher said, "There was a light-hearted mood in the class as I walked to the supply closet and removed a roll of purple duct tape and a roll of masking tape … The class was laughing. I was laughing. The student was laughing."
WJXT was told Goodin took that duct tape and taped the student's leg to his desk before she used the masking tape to tape his hands and his face.
"The masking tape was applied to the student's hands. The student immediately removed it, laughing throughout the incident. Within the next few minutes, the 'play' was over, the tape was removed," the teacher wrote in her statement.
She ended her account stating, "This incident, was in reality, an opportunity to have fun with the students while getting a message to them. Looking back, I know that it was inappropriate for me to break the lines of formality."
The student involved has since been removed from Goodin's classroom.
"The reason why we didn't go for something as severe as dismissal, it did appear at least it started out as something more lighthearted," said Duval County Superintendent Ed Pratt-Dannals.
Board members said the teaching position at Kirby is the teacher's first job and she has shown good behavior in the past.
"I understand that it was a young teacher. I just felt that we needed to send a stronger message," said Burney.
Burney was the only board member who voted against Goodin's 10-day suspension, saying she didn't think the punishment was harsh enough.
Board members also voted that the teacher should get counseling.
http://www.local6.com/news/15287294/detail.html
Tuesday, November 1, 2005
Duct-taping Teacher Faces Charges
October 31, 2005
Santa FE, NM - An arraignment could start as early as Wednesday in a case where a Santa Fe Public Schools teaching intern, according to a student witness, ''snapped'' and duct-taped several children in her sixth-grade Chaparral Elementary classroom. She faces felony charges of child abuse and false imprisonment.
Alice Yuen's indictment last week brought up eight counts of child abuse and two counts of false imprisonment stemming from a school day that occurred in late May.
According to a witness, she taped some students' mouths closed with duct-tape in the morning and then, after lunch, proceeded to bound two of the students to chairs in order to restrain them.
Eight students are named as victims in the indictment. The students reported the incident to Chaparral Principal Theresa Ulibarri.
Ulibarri said she Yuen was removed from the classroom and was interrogated by her. As an explanation for her actions Yuen told her she had become angry because some boys in the classroom were chasing each other.
Yuen told her she took out the duct tape and threatened to use it and that the students had instigated her using it.
The following day, Ulibarri and a counselor from the Santa Fe Rape Crisis Center met with the class to discuss what had happened and offer private counseling to students who wanted it.
Prosecutors are seeking to schedule an arraignment in District Court on Wednesday. The District Court Judge Stephen Pfeffer will write out the conditions of her release that will probably include no contact with children.
The indictment provides Santa Fe and Los Alamos addresses for Yuen, but no telephone number was listed for her.
Ulibarri said she had not heard any complaints about the teacher's behavior prior to this incident.
http://www.injuryhelpline.com/index.rwl?category=news§ion=product+liability&article=duct+taping+teacher+faces+charges&id=1809
Santa FE, NM - An arraignment could start as early as Wednesday in a case where a Santa Fe Public Schools teaching intern, according to a student witness, ''snapped'' and duct-taped several children in her sixth-grade Chaparral Elementary classroom. She faces felony charges of child abuse and false imprisonment.
Alice Yuen's indictment last week brought up eight counts of child abuse and two counts of false imprisonment stemming from a school day that occurred in late May.
According to a witness, she taped some students' mouths closed with duct-tape in the morning and then, after lunch, proceeded to bound two of the students to chairs in order to restrain them.
Eight students are named as victims in the indictment. The students reported the incident to Chaparral Principal Theresa Ulibarri.
Ulibarri said she Yuen was removed from the classroom and was interrogated by her. As an explanation for her actions Yuen told her she had become angry because some boys in the classroom were chasing each other.
Yuen told her she took out the duct tape and threatened to use it and that the students had instigated her using it.
The following day, Ulibarri and a counselor from the Santa Fe Rape Crisis Center met with the class to discuss what had happened and offer private counseling to students who wanted it.
Prosecutors are seeking to schedule an arraignment in District Court on Wednesday. The District Court Judge Stephen Pfeffer will write out the conditions of her release that will probably include no contact with children.
The indictment provides Santa Fe and Los Alamos addresses for Yuen, but no telephone number was listed for her.
Ulibarri said she had not heard any complaints about the teacher's behavior prior to this incident.
http://www.injuryhelpline.com/index.rwl?category=news§ion=product+liability&article=duct+taping+teacher+faces+charges&id=1809
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