NJ mom sues Newark schools after teacher’s aide is charged with abusing child, 7 – 1010 WINS

NEWARK, N.J. (1010 WINS) — A New Jersey woman filed a federal lawsuit against the Newark Board of Education Thursday alleging a teacher’s aide assaulted her 7-year-old with autism, NJ Advance reported. 

The lawsuit, which is seeking a $2.5 million settlement, comes after charges were brought against the aide, 33-year-old Corey D. Foushee, earlier this month.

According to the Essex County Prosecutor’s office, Foushee is facing two counts of aggravated assault and endangering the welfare of a child for allegedly beating the child until he bled.

The alleged abuse occurred at Quitman Street Community School, according to the lawsuit. On April 13, Foushee allegedly dragged the young victim in his chair, pushed him down a staircase then used an open hand to push the child on the floor.

“(The child) was covered with fresh bruises all over his body and face, and his tooth and mouth were bleeding as well,” the lawsuit stated.

Video footage of the aide pushing the child was cited in a probable cause affidavit filed in the criminal case on May 10.

“School surveillance footage captures the defendant (Foushee) grabbing the victim by his shirt collar and forcefully pushing the victim down the hallway and down the staircase of the school,” a detective’s affidavit states.

The detective’s affidavit also said a similar incident was reported by the child’s mother in the fall of 2021 but, according to the lawsuit, it was never investigated by school officials.

The boy’s mother took him to a doctor who advised her to take him to Newark Beth Israel Medical Center and call police, court documents state.

In the police report, an officer said they saw bruises on the child’s back, chin and arms as well as stating the boy “suffered an injury to his tooth, which was bleeding as well.”

At the hospital, an officer with the police department’s crime scene unit took photos of the boy’s injuries, according to a police report.

The school allegedly “had for years known about several unrelated illegal assaults,” but failed to document, investigate or report them, the lawsuit claims, and the school did the same with the April 13 incident, failing to report it to the state’s Division of Child Protection and Permanency, which investigates claims of abuse.

In an email to the Newark Board of Education obtained by NJ Advance, the mother’s attorney, Patrick Toscano, said he would be seeking $4 million if their original $2.5 million settlement ask could not be reached.