Trial for Raleigh teacher, aide charged with child abuse set for September
Apr. 25—Trial dates for two former Raleigh County Schools employees charged with child abuse and battery have been scheduled for September.
The two are accused of pinning an elementary-age special needs child to the floor using chairs.
Wanelle Ortiz, a former special education teacher at Ridgeview Elementary School, will be the first to go to trial. Her trial is scheduled for 9 a.m. on Sept. 9.
Ortiz's codefendant, Lisa Avis, a former special needs aide at Ridgeview Elementary, will be tried two weeks later at 9 a.m. on Sept. 23.
Ortiz, 52, and Avis, 58, are facing multiple felony charges, including child abuse resulting in injury, battery and assault of a disabled child and felony conspiracy.
The charges stem from an incident in April 2013 in a special needs classroom at Ridgeview Elementary School.
According to the criminal complaint, Ortiz and Avis are accused of using unsanctioned methods to restrain a special needs child. A classroom video camera captured the incident.
In a narrative written by Raleigh County Sheriff Sgt. T.D. Pack in the criminal complaint, which details the video, Ortiz and Avis initially used chairs to pin the child to the floor.
Ortiz slapped and then sat on top of the child, causing the child to scream and beg to be let go.
After reviewing the footage, Pack wrote that the school employees "did not follow CPI (Child Prevention Institute) protocol with the minor child student and further escalated the situation with verbal taunts and physical suppression that was cruel and caused the child unnecessary pain."
Since the incident was revealed, Ortiz and Avis have been fired from their positions with Raleigh County Schools.
The child's family is seeking a civil suit against the school district.
The child's mother and attorney were present Thursday during a pretrial hearing for Avis in Raleigh County Circuit Court.
The attorney representing the victim's family, Amanda Taylor, said the suit would include claims against the Raleigh County Board of Education of negligence, civil battery, civil assault and negligence in hiring, supervision and retention.
Taylor said those claims are based on video of the incident.
"It's very clear what happened was inappropriate for the teacher and the teacher aide," Taylor said.
She added that they also have reason to believe that Ortiz has previous charges that "should have prohibited her from being in a classroom at all, let alone an autism-specific classroom."
Taylor said they have yet to file the lawsuit and are still in the "pre-suit" phase of the case, though she does believe the victim's family and the school board will be able to resolve the matter outside of court.
During a pretrial hearing Thursday for Avis, her attorney, Anthony Salvatore, said he was working to obtain expert witnesses to detail the proper measures of restraint for a special needs child.
"There are specific types of physical restraint that are permitted, and in this case, that will be a question for the jury to determine if the method of restraint did or did not fall within the definition of the statute," Salvatore said.
For this reason, Salvatore requested that Avis' trial, initially set for the end of May, be pushed back.
Salvatore said he also needed more time to review recently disclosed medical and school records.
Raleigh County Assistant Prosecuting Attorney Morgan Spolarich argued against the motion for continuance, stating she also just received those records and that pushing back the trial could interfere with other cases scheduled before the judge.
Ultimately, Raleigh County Circuit Judge H.L. Kirkpatrick agreed to the continuance.
Email: jmoore@register-herald.com
