
NJ teacher dangles 4-year-old with autism upside down, report says
⚫ A teacher abused a child with autism and held the boy by his ankles, his mother says
⚫ The 4-year-old boy could not speak for himself as he is nonverbal
⚫ Of the five other teachers who reportedly saw the abuse, only one came forward
SOUTH ORANGE — A North Jersey mother says she received an infuriating phone call informing her that her son had been abused at school, according to a report.
Daylan Wilkins, a four-year-old boy with autism, reportedly came home from Montrose Early Childhood Center on Monday, March 28 with bruises and cuts. His mother, Devena Wilkins, told ABC 7 Eyewitness News that the child had frequent visits to the nurse's office with unexplained injuries.
But the reason became clear late Wednesday afternoon. Wilkins said she received an outrageous phone call from the principal of the school in South Orange, who told her that the child had been abused by his teacher.
Wilkins said her son didn't want to participate in a school activity, so the teacher grabbed the boy by his ankles and dangled him upside down.
The teacher has been suspended and the matter is under investigation. But Candie Wilkins, the boy's grandmother, told NJ.com that five other teachers were also in the room and only one of them came forward.
“The teachers that were involved need to be dismissed and no longer need to work with children because they saw this, they allowed it and did not report it,” Wilkins reportedly said.
Ronald Taylor, superintendent for South Orange-Maplewood, said in a statement that the district's "highest priority" was the health and safety of its students.
"We are cooperating with the appropriate authorities and are unable to offer further comments due to the confidentiality applicable to student and personnel matters," Taylor said.
A media contact for the district did not release the identity of the accused teacher.
Rick Rickman is a reporter for New Jersey 101.5. You can reach him at richard.rickman@townsquaremedia.com
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