A Las Vegas mother has sued Clark County School District, alleging her non-verbal pre-kindergarten son was flicked, grabbed, pulled and dragged by his special education teacher at Hickey Elementary School last school year — and that school administrators knew about the abuse but never reported it. Aryana Togafau filed the federal complaint on behalf of her son, identified in court records as P.W., on September 8.
Teacher Assistants Describe Routine Physical Abuse
The lawsuit names teacher Michelle Molloy, Principal Kim Barra and Assistant Principal Michael Blume as defendants, according to the Las Vegas Review-Journal. Teacher assistants told investigators that Molloy routinely flicked, grabbed, pulled, slapped, squeezed and jerked disabled students by their hands and arms, and that she dragged students around her classroom. Assistants also said Molloy flicked P.W. on the head when he wasn't listening and yelled at him and other students over minor issues.
The suit alleges the abuse took place at Hickey Elementary starting in October 2025 and caused P.W. to act aggressively toward peers, resist going to school, and cry when Molloy brought him into her classroom. The complaint accuses CCSD, Barra and Blume of failing to report Molloy or intervene despite being aware of suspected child abuse — an allegation that, if true, would run counter to Nevada's mandatory reporting law. Under Nevada Revised Statute 432B.220, according to the Nevada Legislature, school employees who know or have reasonable cause to believe a child has been abused must notify law enforcement or child welfare services within 24 hours, and a knowing, willful failure to do so is a misdemeanor under a related statute, per the University of Nevada Extension.
Molloy Says She Was Cleared, District Police Notified in March
Molloy told the outlet she had been cleared of wrongdoing after internal investigations and said she was not aware of the lawsuit against her. That account stands in tension with the allegations teacher assistants gave investigators describing frequent physical mishandling of students. The Clark County School District Police Department was notified of Molloy's suspected abuse by Blume in early March 2026, per the lawsuit as reported by the Review-Journal. Records show CCSD employed Molloy since 2016, Barra since 2013 and Blume since 2004. The lawsuit alleges battery and negligence and requests a jury trial.
Attorney Renews Push for Classroom Cameras
Togafau is represented by attorney Anh Phoong, who said lawsuits like this one show a need for cameras in special education classrooms and that her firm intends to revive legislation requiring them statewide. Phoong has pursued similar claims before: in October 2025, she filed a separate federal civil-rights lawsuit against CCSD, as detailed by the National Law Review, alleging a non-verbal autistic student was physically abused by a special education teacher at Sandra Thompson Elementary School during the 2019-2020 school year.
Camera mandates for special education classrooms have stalled in Carson City before. Nevada lawmakers introduced Senate Bill 158 in March 2023 to require video and audio recording in such classrooms, following failed proposals in 2017 and 2019, according to The Nevada Independent. That outlet reported CCSD estimated installing and maintaining the cameras districtwide would cost between $45 million and $55 million over four years, a price tag that has repeatedly stalled the idea. The Nevada Department of Education confirmed in August that it lacks the statutory authority to mandate classroom cameras on its own, according to a filing on Change.org, meaning any new requirement would have to wait for the state legislature's next regular session, which begins February 1, 2027.
Part of a Broader Pattern of CCSD Abuse Claims
The Togafau case follows a string of similar allegations against the district. In February, a mother filed a federal lawsuit alleging a special education teacher at Garehime Elementary locked her non-verbal 5-year-old autistic daughter in a dark bathroom in August 2022 while administrators witnessed the conduct without reporting it, Hoodline previously reported on a similar case. And in June 2024, a federal court approved a $9.95 million settlement against CCSD — the largest payout in district history for a single child — stemming from a teacher's physical abuse of a non-verbal autistic student at Harley Harmon Elementary School, according to PR Newswire.
The district is also facing broader financial strain in its special education programs. The Clark County School District Board of Trustees voted in August to make special education funding a top legislative priority for 2027, seeking state help to cover an estimated $240 million annual funding shortfall. As the Togafau lawsuit moves through federal court, it adds to a growing body of litigation testing how CCSD trains, supervises and holds accountable staff working with the district's most vulnerable students.
