Family upset over alleged mistreatment of student who is paraplegic



LORAIN, Ohio - The family of a student who is paraplegic and was allegedly mistreated by a classroom aide is speaking out.

“He caused me pain. I see my son there, and I question how long was he there on the floor before he was picked up,” Yadira Rivera Martinez said.

Her son, Jaycob, was allegedly mistreated by a classroom aide inside his seventh grade special education class at Southview Middle School on April 18th.

“It was shocking, shocking,” Jaycob's uncle Wilmer Perez Morales said.

According to Morales, the family found out about the alleged mistreatment while watching WJW over the weekend.

“The aide is there to do a job; I believe he failed Jaycob, his family, and his peers,” Morales said.

Martinez said the school sent Jaycob home with a vague incident letter stating he fell.

“You see the discrepancies between the report and the video and what the kids said in the interview. It seems like there was a lot of hiding here,” Morales said.

WJW learned that the aide was removed from the school Friday.

Lorain City Schools released a statement saying, “The paraprofessional has been placed on administrative leave while a full investigation is conducted.”

Morales said Jaycob hit his head and hip in the fall.

“Just hiding that sensitive information from the report put Jaycob’s life in danger. Jaycob’s health issues are from the head; he suffers strokes. And he suffered a hit to the head, and for some reason the school decided not to tell us about it,” Morales said.

The family is keeping Jaycob out of school until the district’s investigation is completed.