MI: Washtenaw Intermediate School District aide charged with child abuse

by David Jesse | The Ann Arbor News
Thursday January 22, 2009, 3:59 PM

An aide with the Washtenaw Intermediate School District is facing child abuse and assault charges after he was accused of slapping and shoving two special education students under his care, Ann Arbor Police said.

Parents of the students, ages 12 and 13, went to police after an internal WISD investigation cleared the aide, and he was transferred to another classroom, where he still worked with special education students.

Michael Beasley, 45, was arraigned on two counts each of child abuse and assault and battery in 15th District Court Thursday morning, police said.

He pleaded not guilty and was released on a personal bond, police said.

His attorney, Doug Mullkoss, did not immediately return calls seeking comment.

Beasley is on paid administrative leave, WISD spokeswoman Gerri Allen said.

In a letter sent home to parents, WISD Superintendent Bill Miller said he "found these allegations to be extremely troubling.

"We are taking appropriate action to internally investigate the circumstances surrounding these allegations, including a review of district investigation and reporting procedures."

That statement didn't mollify parents of the students, who said the WISD should not have allowed the aide to continue working with students after the allegations were raised.

"They should have fired him from the get-go," said parent Mike Hayes. "He did a lot of things he shouldn't have been doing. They just tried to sweep it under the rug."

The Pittsfield Township man is accused of slapping a 13-year-old autistic child with an open hand at Scarlett Middle School Oct. 30.
The child, from Saline, suffered redness and swelling to his face, but did not need medical treatment, reports said.

Detective Sgt. Jeff Connelly said a detective investigating the case discovered another incident in which Beasley allegedly shoved a 12-year-old Ann Arbor girl with special needs to the gym floor at Scarlett in mid-October. The girl suffered bruises to her arm, and her parents received a letter about the incident signed by her teacher, police said.

Several parents of students in that class said the aide slapped, pinched, swore at and was physically abusive to children.

The class at Scarlett has six students, one teacher, two teacher aides and other support staff. It's one of nine classrooms the WISD runs at local schools to help students with moderate and severe disabilities get skill training, access to general education curriculum and opportunities to participate in activities with non-disabled peers.

Allen said Beasley's WISD personnel file had no other complaints in it.

The parents initially approached the WISD in the fall with complaints about Beasley.

"On October 30, 2008, he was immediately placed on administrative leave pending the outcome of an internal investigation," Allen said. "... Following this investigation the employee was placed on disciplinary leave for failure to follow the district student behavior management policy and was given an employee assistance plan. "On November 12, 2008, the employee returned to work but in a different location (High Point School) at his request."

Parents disagreed with that move.

"We just thought that wasn't right," Hayes said. "That's when we started filing police reports. We thought if the school wasn't going to do anything about this, we would."

Parents said they took their concerns to Miller, who on Dec. 8 placed the aide on administrative leave again while the police investigated.

A group of parents also appeared before the school board in closed session last week to ask the board to take action. None has been taken yet.

"It was very scary," Hayes said. "We just thought something wasn't right in the classroom. With children that have a hard time communicating, it makes it just that much harder.

"We shouldn't have had to go through this."

David Jesse can be reached at djesse@annarbornews.com or at 734-994-6937. Join the discussion at blog.mlive.com/study_hall.