Inset: Joshua Sikes (Altmeyer Funeral Home and Crematory). Background: The “makeshift classroom prison” where Joshua Sikes was allegedly confined and secluded by employees for Southeastern Cooperative Educational Programs in Virginia Beach, Va. (Attorney Matthew J. Moynihan).
An 11-year-old boy from Virginia, who had autism, pleaded for his mother while being confined in what has been described as a “makeshift classroom prison,” according to a lawsuit filed by his mother. Tragically, the child succumbed to injuries after repeatedly hitting his head on the floor, the legal document states.
Joshua Sikes, during his time at Pembroke Elementary School in October 2024, cried out for his “mommy,” as detailed in a court filing obtained by Law&Crime. His mother, Julie Xirau, has taken legal action against Southeastern Cooperative Educational Programs (SECEP), an organization providing special education services.
The lawsuit claims Joshua expressed longing for his mother after being placed in a restrictive environment, supposedly to “calm him down.” He reportedly said, “I miss my mommy,” while being held in the constraining space.
Repeatedly, Joshua voiced phrases like “No more angry bear,” and “I’m calm bear,” according to his mother’s account. Despite this, the complaint suggests that during his “restraint and seclusion,” Joshua lay down and began to kick and strike his head against the floor. SECEP staff allegedly observed the situation without intervening for hours.
The filing outlines that shortly after 2 p.m. on October 31, 2024, the SECEP staff, believing they had created sufficient documentation to justify removing Joshua from the classroom, contacted his mother. They informed Julie that Joshua was misbehaving and required to be picked up. Believing the staff’s account, Julie informed Joshua that he would not be allowed to go trick-or-treating that night as a consequence of the reported behavior.
“Shortly after 2 p.m. on October 31, 2024, satisfied that they had sufficiently agitated Joshua for purposes of creating a paper trail to remove Joshua from the classroom, [SECEP staff] called Joshua’s mother, Julie, and informed her that Joshua was misbehaving and needed to be picked up from school,” the complaint says. “Believing that the professionals tasked with ensuring Joshua’s safety were truthful in the representation, Julie told Joshua that he would not be able to go trick-or-treating that night, as a consequence for his alleged ‘misbehavior’ as reported to Julie.”
Not being able to go trick-or-treating left Joshua “devastated,” and his limited verbal skills left him unable to articulate “the truth about the horrific way he was treated,” the complaint alleges. His mother says she was also completely unaware that Joshua had been injured in the “classroom prison,” which was allegedly constructed using bookcases, bookshelves, and “heavy-duty” straps that held furniture together to keep children from having freedom of movement.
“No one told her about what happened and what they did,” the complaint says. “The following day, Nov. 1, 2024, Joshua was increasingly lethargic and withdrawn. Julie and Joshua’s caretaker monitored him throughout the day, which was a day off from school. As Joshua’s condition worsened over Nov. 1 and into Nov. 2, Julie became concerned and took Joshua to the emergency room for an examination.”
Xirau says she was unable to recount to the medical professionals at the emergency room about the alleged head trauma because she was still unaware of what happened and what was done to Joshua in the classroom. The hospital discharged Joshua and gave his mother instructions to schedule an appointment with a pediatric neurologist.
“Sadly, Julie was never able to take Joshua to that appointment with a pediatric neurologist, as Joshua passed away in his sleep during the early hours of Nov. 3, 2024, suffering brain death from the head trauma that happened in the classroom,” the complaint says. “Julie, living a nightmare no parent should ever have to endure, discovered Joshua’s body in bed, right where she had tucked him in just hours before.”
Xirau, who is from Virginia Beach, is suing SECEP and four employees for $150 million. She and her attorney, Matthew J. Moynihan, have accused them of not calling for a nurse or telling Xirau about the confinement and injuries, only that he had been “misbehaving,” she says.
Local authorities investigated the incident and Joshua’s death. Virginia Beach Commonwealth’s Attorney Colin Stolle determined there was “absolutely no evidence to support” allegations that SECEP staff was to blame, according to local NPR affiliate WHRV.
Child Protection Services was contacted and reportedly probed Joshua’s death, as well, but the alleged neglect was linked to “an unknown abuser.” Claims of physical abuse were also determined to be unfounded, WHRV reports.
SECEP and the Virginia Beach attorney’s office did not respond to Law&Crime’s requests for comment on Tuesday.
