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Kessler teacher’s aide placed on leave for allegedly bruising boy’s arm

By Marissa Heffernan, The Daily News
Published: November 27, 2019, 9:40am

LONGVIEW — A longtime Kessler Elementary School teacher’s aide has been placed on paid administrative leave while Longview school officials investigate allegations that she bruised a child’s arm Monday, district officials said Tuesday.

Johanna Pederson, the mother of the 7-year-old student, said she noticed the bruises when putting lotion on her son’s elbows to treat eczema Monday night.

“He said, ‘Ow.’ So I said, ‘What hurts?’ ”

When her son turned his wrist over, she saw bruise marks in the shape of three fingers, Pederson said.

She said her son told her he was walking back toward the school after recess when the aide grabbed him, bruising him through three layers of clothing. Pederson said she called police to document the injuries and reached out to the district.

The district became aware of the allegations Tuesday, district spokesman Rick Parrish said, and a district official and the Kessler principal spoke with the student’s parent (district officials did not name Pederson). Pederson said district officials told her the school has video of the incident, and it shows that her son had not been disruptive.

“He wasn’t acting out, or throwing a fit, or hurting anybody,” Pederson said. She also said that even if her son had been acting out, “that level of force is not acceptable.”

Parrish said per district policy the employee has been placed on paid leave. In the course of the investigation, the district will meet with the employee, who has worked for the district since 1992, Parrish said.

Pederson said she has had conflicts with Kessler administrators over her older son, who has behavioral problems and is on an individual education plan.

For now, Pederson said she is considering homeschooling or online school because her 7-year-old now is afraid to return to class.

“I definitely want charges pressed,” Pederson said. “My child is scared to go to school. He doesn’t know why this woman grabbed him.”

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