A worker is accused of assaulting two children at a Manchester, New Hampshire, elementary school in January, weeks after a student was allegedly assaulted in a different incident at the same school, police said Thursday.
The allegations that workers who were supposed to be helping children ended up hurting them at Parker Varney Elementary School have left parents upset and the Manchester School District investigating Applied ABC, the special education provider who employed both assault suspects.
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"We are heartbroken by the violation of trust placed in these workers and will continue to cooperate fully with the MPD investigation into the recent incidents at Parker-Varney School," Manchester School Superintendent Jennifer Chmiel Gillis wrote in a letter to the community.
The Jan. 4 incidents involved a boy and a girl, both 7, and behavior technician William O'Connell, 24, a contract worker, according to Manchester police.
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In one incident, O'Connell is accused of throwing the boy to the ground, injuring his face. In the other, O'Connell put the girl onto the ground in a "hard manner," police said; she wasn't hurt.
O'Connell turned himself in to police Wednesday evening on charges of second-degree and simple assault, officials said. He was released on personal recognizance ahead of a March 7 arraignment date.
Manchester police told NBC10 Boston there was no connection between the Jan. 4 incident and a Dec. 22 incident that resulted in the arrest of behavioral therapist Louis Efstathiou, 69. He was charged with second-degree assault, simple assault and endangering the welfare of a child after a 7-year-old student came home with facial injuries and told his parents his therapist at school had assaulted him.
Both O'Connell and Efstathiou were working for Applied ABC, which contracts with the Manchester School District. It wasn't immediately clear if they had attorneys who could speak to the charges they faced.
Applied ABC told NBC10 Boston it is cooperating with the investigation and has applied more training and increased oversight of its employees.
Chmiel Gillis said in an initial statement Tuesday that the worker accused in the January incidents, who provided one-to-one student support, was removed from the school and not allowed to return as soon as officials became aware of what happened.
"The allegations are troubling enough, but especially so given that this is a second set of allegations involving employees of this company. We are reviewing the status of our agreement with this vendor, and we have made it clear to the leadership of Applied ABC that the alleged behaviors are unacceptable. They have taken immediate steps, including additional training, and increased support and oversight for their employees," Chmiel Gillis said in that statement, adding that Manchester students' health and wellbeing "is paramount" and that her administration will continue to work with Applied ABC to make sure their workers "are meeting our expectations for student safety."
The subsequent letter to the Manchester School District community noted that her administration will meet with each family whose child works with an Applied ABC staffer — 76 worked across 17 locations as of Tuesday — to share updated and answer questions.
Chmiel Gillis didn't announce whether the district could sever ties with Applied ABC, but spoke in strong language about the relationship: "Until these incidents were reported, Applied ABC has been a collaborative partner, providing essential special education services to students in school and outside of the classroom. This company was selected to provide these services because they have an excellent reputation nationally for offering quality care to children. However, these alleged incidents are deeply disturbing and will not be tolerated."
Mayor Jay Ruais also addressed the allegations, calling them "horrific" and "far below the high standards set by the Manchester School District for the safety and well-being of its students."
Susie Lacroiz, a grandparent at Parker Varney, said she didn't find out about the January incident until two weeks later, when an email from the principal informed them the service provider was removed from the building.
"You wanna protect you kids as much as you can and if you don't know about it, how are you supposed to do that," she said.
