Teacher’s aide beat 7-year-old with autism, mom says in $2.5M lawsuit notice – NJ.com

The mother of an autistic 7-year-old boy plans to sue Newark public schools for $2.5 million, claiming a teacher’s aide beat and pushed her child down a flight of stairs in the school last month.

The attack, which was reported to Newark police, occurred April 13 at Quitman Street Community School, according to a notice of tort claim filed against the board of education.

The notice states the child was “viciously assaulted” and that a classroom teacher witnessed the beating. “Hopefully she will be completely truthful in her account of what transpired,” the notice states.

The mother called police after she picked up her child, who was screaming when she arrived, according to a Newark police incident report obtained by NJ Advance Media.

Board of Education Attorney Brenda Liss did not immediately respond to a call seeking comment on the legal notice. Nancy J. Deering, spokeswoman for the board, was in a meeting on Tuesday and not available to comment.

The child told his mother that the aide used an open hand to push him to the floor, dragged him and pushed him down the stairs, according to the police report.

The mother took the child to a doctor, who recommended she take her son to Newark Beth Israel Medical Center and call police.

Responding officers wrote in the report they saw bruises on the child’s back, chin and arms and that he “suffered an injury to his tooth, which was bleeding as well.”

An officer with the police department’s crime scene unit also responded to the hospital and took photos of the child’s injuries.

The incident, which is referred to in the report as “endangering the welfare of a child” and abuse, has since been referred to the Special Victim’s Unit of the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office, according to the police report.

No charges have been filed, but the teacher’s aide has been suspended from his job, according to Patrick Toscano, the Caldwell attorney who filed the notice.

“This child’s mother sent her autistic 7-year-old son to the school so he would be protected and educated,” Toscano said. “He ends up being physically beaten and battered. This is a nightmare beyond comprehension.”

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Anthony G. Attrino may be reached at tattrino@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @TonyAttrino. Find NJ.com on Facebook.