Former special education teacher charged with abuse

Feb. 12—A woman who was a special education teacher was charged with several counts of child abuse after video footage showed the woman allegedly abusing two students in a classroom in August 2023.

Court records show Stacy Maelynne Parker, 59, of Hartshorne, was charged with four counts of felony child abuse.

Jail records show Parker was released from the Pittsburg County Jail after posting a $25,000 bond through a bondsman after a motion to reduce her original $75,000 bond filed by her attorney Todd Konsure was granted.

Krebs Superintendent Patrick Turner in a statement said the district was made aware of the allegations against Parker in August 2023 and notifed law enforcement.

Turner said Parker submitted her resignation from the district after being confronted about the allegations with the district's board of education accepting her resignation on Aug. 31, 2023.

"Krebs Public Schools has been working with law enforcement on this matter," Turner said in his statement. "In addition to the initial report the district has provided all the information requested by law enforcement and stands ready to provide any additional assistance possible."

Turner said it would not be appropaite for futher comment on the matter due to the ongoing legal process.

An affidavit filed in the case states the investigation into Parker began in August 2023 after a Krebs Public School official asked the school resource officer to review surveillance footage of an incident involving a teacher and to make a report.

Krebs School Resource Officer Leslie Cox wrote in his report four short videos were provided that showed Parker dragging a student by his feet across the floor, dragging and tossing the student into a desk and turning the desk and holding the desk so the child could not escape. Another video showed Parker "violently" pulling a tablet from a student and pulling on the student's foot while bent over the child.

"After I reviewed the approximately 8.5 minutes of video, it was deemed apparent that this was a criminal action made by Parker against several students," Cox wrote in his report. "Due to her aggressive nature and the inability to deescalate children who need special attention, especially when overstimulate, she caused the multiple situations to escalate and became physically violent with these children."

The report stated the video reviewed by investigators showed Parker would "stop her aggressive behaviors" while school administration was present in the classroom.

A search warrant was signed by a Pittsburg County judge for all video footage from the classroom Parker was in with the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation called in to assist investigators with retrieving the footage from the school's server, the affidavit states.

Investigators served a second search warrant on the system after concerns were raised about the possibility of "some evidence being moved or taken off the server" after it was learned 16 cameras, including the three in Parker's classroom, were not available, the affidavit states.

A backup server with the footage was later found by investigators with the requested footage retrieved, the report states.

Cox wrote in his report approximately 108 hours of footage was obtained with the footage showing Parker "progressively getting more agitated, stern, violent, and physical with the children."

According to the affidavit, a third search warrant was served to obtain more footage from Parker when she was in the classroom before she was placed on administrative leave with the footage obtained showing more instances of Parker being aggressive towards students.

"To conclude this investigation, my findings have made clear is apparent that Ms. Parker has intentional behavior towards students in her class," Cox wrote in his report. "In the video evidence, it is clear that Ms. Parker shows intention by not displaying her violent behaviors around administration, but continuously would verbally and physically attack students several times."

The officer said school administrators told him they were not able to reach many of Parker's previous employers or references during her hiring process, the affidavit states.

Cox wrote in his report he was able to speak with a principal of school where Parker was previously employed with the principal saying she did not believe Parker "was a good match for elementary age children due to her aggressive and stern behavior.