A former teacher in Indiana is accused of orchestrating a ‘Fight Club’ in which he allegedly encouraged classmates to beat up a 7-year-old student with a disability and videotaped at least one attack, according to a lawsuit which was submitted this week.
The 7-year-old boy’s mother filed a lawsuit Tuesday in Marion County that also includes Indiana Public Schools Superintendent Aleesia Johnson, George Washington Carver Montessori IPS School 87 Principal Mary Kapcoe and the child’s former teacher, Julious Johnican , are called.
Other defendants include the district, the district’s Board of School Commissioners, the school’s assistant principal, a substitute teacher and a behavioral consultant.
According to the lawsuit, the child, identified only as “OD,” began complaining to his mother weeks into the 2023-2024 school year about being abused and harassed at school.
The indictment alleges that Johnican “orchestrated a reprehensible ‘fight club’ type discipline in his classroom over a three-month span during which he encouraged, incited, and on at least one occasion recorded on his phone physical abuse of OD by other students.” ”
“In this heinous scheme, Johnican not only allowed, but encouraged and facilitated other students to engage in acts of violence against the seven-year-old OD, including at least three assaults and various forms of physical harm and harassment, both for his own amusement and his own pleasure. as a deeply disturbed disciplinary measure,” the complaint said.
Catherine Michael, a lawyer representing the student’s family, said the teacher appeared to use the fighting as “a disciplinary technique.”
“Instead of beating a kid senseless himself, at least from what we have, he allowed another kid to do it,” Michael told NBC affiliate WTHR from Indianapolis.
On Thursday, a spokesperson for the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department said it opened an investigation Wednesday into the allegations in the lawsuit at the request of the county prosecutor’s office.
The school district said in a statement that it took immediate action as soon as it learned of the allegations. It also said the teacher was initially suspended and then resigned on Nov. 2 before the district could begin termination proceedings.
“IPS does not tolerate the type of behavior alleged in the complaint and takes reports of possible abuse and neglect seriously,” the district’s statement said. “When IPS learned of the teacher’s conduct, the Department of Child Services (DCS) was immediately notified and the teacher was removed from the classroom and suspended. The teacher has no longer had contact with students and is no longer employed by IPS.”
The district also said it was not made aware of the allegations that the teacher encouraged fights until the parent emailed the principal on the evening of Oct. 30. But the director didn’t see the email until the next morning and immediately contacted the Department of Child Protection. and school system personnel, the district said.
A district spokesperson said Thursday that Johnson, the superintendent and the school principal would not comment on the allegations.
Attempts to reach Johnican, who is described in the lawsuit as a first-year teacher in the district, were unsuccessful Thursday afternoon. Phone calls to numbers of his relatives were not answered.
The lawsuit alleges that the second-grader was “thrown to the ground, punched, punched and repeatedly struck in the head” during at least three attacks.
Johnican, the suit says, twice held down the child while “allowing other students to hit, punch and kick him.”
The child’s mother met repeatedly with Johnican to discuss her son’s allegations, but Johnican rejected them, attributing the problem to the student’s behavioral problems and saying the student was lying or mentally ill, the lawsuit said.
According to the lawsuit, the child’s mother told the vice principal about the allegations on Sept. 22 after she was called to the school because her son was hysterical and could not calm down.
His mother went to school that day and observed him in class for 45 minutes. That day, her son again told her he was being abused at school, the complaint said.
“OD told his mother that another student, in the teacher’s presence and at his direction, had hit his head on a desk, pulled him to the floor and then repeatedly punched him in the head. He immediately indicated that this was done at the direction of his teacher, Mr. Johnican,” the lawsuit said.
According to the lawsuit, the child began asking to avoid school, and his grades dropped.
On Nov. 1, his parents met with Johnican, who intended to show a video of the area surrounding his classroom but instead accidentally started showing a video of the student being assaulted, the lawsuit said.
“When the parent attempted to reach for the phone, he accidentally turned up the volume so that the parents could hear that it was him, the teacher, who was instigating and encouraging the hitting of their disabled seven-year-old child,” the lawsuit said.
“The disturbing content of the video taken by Johnican shows OD crying on the ground as he is repeatedly punched in the face and head by a colleague sitting on top of him as he screams and begs for the attack to stop.” say.
In an interview with the Department of Child Protective Services, the student said he was assaulted twice in October and that in one instance Johnican held him down while a first-grader punched him in the face, the complaint said. And in a second alleged incident, Johnican held his shoulders while another student punched him in the stomach and kicked him in the legs, the suit said.
Some of the claims in the lawsuit include negligent care and supervision; negligent hiring, retention and supervision; and intentional infliction of severe emotional distress.
The child is now homeschooled, has been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder and receives therapy at least once a week, the lawsuit said.
The lawsuit calls for a jury trial and says damages will be determined at trial.
This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
