In a lawsuit filed earlier this month, Takeila Jones, the mother of a 7-year-old child with autism, is seeking justice after her son was allegedly tied to a chair by his wrists for an hour during recess at G.D. Rogers Garden-Bullock Elementary School in Bradenton. WFLA reports that the child was restrained using a nylon rope, commonly used to teach students to walk in line, wrapped around the leg of a chair by teacher Carina Chindamo and teacher's aides Taylor Internicola and Hydalmy Ortiz.
Chindamo, 31, along with Internicola, 39, and Ortiz, 41, have been charged with false imprisonment and battery, and the security footage purportedly shows them taking turns sitting on the chair to stabilize it, according to a statement obtained by WTSP. As a result of this incident, the mother's lawsuit alleges that the School Board of Manatee County was negligent and did not properly train its staff for the Exceptional Student Education (ESE) program, demanding a trial by jury and seeking damages of at least $50,000.
Alongside the criminal charges faced by the teacher and aides involved, the civil lawsuit also accuses the school district of failing to provide a safe and secure educational environment free of harassment. In her lawsuit, Jones claims that the district failed in its duty to hire, train, and supervise personnel to appropriately care for the children of Manatee County, as per court records referenced by The Bradenton Herald. The statement emphasized that the teacher and two aides no longer work for the school district, though the district did not comment on the lawsuit when approached by The Bradenton Herald.
Jones expressed her dismay and sense of betrayal, stating, "Y'all were supposed to protect him, y'all were supposed to watch out for him and teach him, not put him in harm's way with these people that hurt him," as she told News Channel 8 in a previous interview in February; the incident left her son in need of medical attention when he returned home. The legal proceedings are anticipated to unfold over the coming months as the mother seeks accountability and reparations for the alleged mistreatment of her child.
