A Milwaukee grandmother says her 3-year-old grandson came home with two bruises on the back of his leg after a staff member at Milwaukee's Manitoba School allegedly spanked him with a stick-like object — and now she says she saw the same employee at the school even as the investigation continues. The boy is so shaken by the ordeal that he sobs, cries and begs not to go to school whenever he sees the building, according to his grandmother.
Katie Ryckman, the boy's grandmother, told WISN that her grandson is traumatized by what happened at the school. Ryckman said she has met with the school's principal, Milwaukee police, Child Protective Services and district officials multiple times over the past week trying to get answers. Milwaukee police confirmed to the station that a child abuse investigation is underway.
Principal's Letter Described Staffer as Removed From Building
Manitoba School Principal Christopher Garza sent a letter to families on September 16 disclosing that police and Child Protective Services had been called in to investigate a report that a staff member spanked a student, and that the school was conducting a full investigation into the allegation. According to that letter, the staff member accused in the incident was not working inside the Manitoba School building at the time it was sent. But Ryckman told the station she saw the staff member at school this week, on September 22 — raising questions for the family about the employee's presence at school while prosecutors decide whether to file charges.
A Milwaukee Public Schools spokesperson said the district could not comment further because it is a personnel matter, the station reported. As of Tuesday, no criminal charges had been filed against the staff member. Ryckman is scheduled to meet with the district attorney on Wednesday, and she says she plans to keep pushing for accountability while considering whether to transfer her grandson to a different school.
Wisconsin Law Bars Corporal Punishment
Wisconsin law bars school officials and employees from subjecting students to corporal punishment, though it allows some exceptions for reasonable force. Under Wisconsin Statute § 118.31, school officials and employees are barred from subjecting any student to corporal punishment, defined as the intentional infliction of physical pain as discipline, with exceptions for self-defense, preventing physical injury, taking away a dangerous object, and using reasonable force to quell disturbances or remove disruptive pupils.
If prosecutors do file charges, the legal exposure could be significant. Intentionally causing bodily harm to a child is a Class H felony in Wisconsin, according to the Van Severen Law Office, which notes that physical child abuse charges in Wisconsin can escalate as high as a Class C felony in cases involving great bodily harm.
Case Involves a 3-Year-Old Student
The case centers on a 3-year-old student at Manitoba School.
The allegations at Manitoba School land in a district already grappling with a string of physical-abuse cases against staff this year. On September 16, an MPS paraprofessional at Trowbridge Street School was charged with felony physical abuse of a child after allegedly grabbing a 12-year-old by the neck and arm, as Hoodline previously reported. In May, a Wedgewood Park International School staffer was pulled from the building after an accusation of grabbing and pushing a student, and in June a gym teacher at Fairview Elementary was criminally charged after allegedly grabbing an eight-year-old third-grader and bringing him to the ground during class.
For Ryckman, the more pressing concern remains what happened inside the building — and her push for accountability.
