MASSENA, New York (WWNY) – A teacher’s assistant is accused of assaulting a special needs student at a St. Lawrence County school.
State police arrested Darlene Bourdeau, 67, of Massena, last Friday.
She’s charged with second-degree assault and endangering the welfare of an incompetent or physically disabled person.
Troopers said the Massena Central School District reported an instance of alleged child abuse involving Bourdeau and a 6-year-old special needs student.
It allegedly happened on February 3 in a special education classroom at Nightengale Elementary School.
Bourdeau, who was a teacher assistant assigned to that classroom, is accused of grabbing the student and forcefully squeezing one of the girl’s wrists.
According to court documents, the actions “caused substantial pain to the child, which prompted the young girl to repeatedly shout out, ‘Owww!’, and sob uncontrollably.”
Police said another staff member reported the incident to the school’s administrator.
Bourdeau was arraigned in Massena Town Court and released under the supervision of the St. Lawrence County Probation Department.
District Superintendent Ronald Burke said Bourdeau has been placed on administrative leave.
“We take the safety of our students as a top priority,” he said. “We understand there are many questions, and we hope the process will provide answers.”
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