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Inset: Jason Rogers, from the Underwood School District, taught at Underwood School in Otter Tail County, Minn. (Google Maps).
A 350-pound teacher in Minnesota is facing criminal charges for allegedly using a sixth grade student like a “stepping stool” — standing on his back for 10 seconds — while the boy was laying on his stomach during a lockdown drill, cops say.
Jason Rogers, a teacher at Underwood School in Otter Tail County, allegedly confessed to stepping on three different students during a Feb. 10 lockdown drill where kids were required to sit down in certain places while staff conducted a security drill, according to court documents obtained by the Tri-City Herald. Rogers reportedly felt that the students weren’t taking the drill seriously.
Rogers allegedly told police that he told the kids “he could step on them” because they were laying on their stomachs instead of sitting down. At least one of the students, the sixth grader, was allegedly injured and began to cry.
“(The child) did not know why Defendant did this because he did not hear him say anything about it and just stepped on him like he was a ‘stepping stool,” according to Rogers’ criminal complaint, which was filed this week. “He stated the entire class saw it and thought Defendant had broken (the boy’s) back,” the complaint says, according to the Herald news report.
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Authorities say the child was removed from school for the week while dealing with his injuries. Rogers, who in court documents was said to weigh 350 pounds, allegedly told investigators he was “concerned” after noticing this, the Herald reports. The child’s mother took him to Lake Region Hospital and then made a report for assault.
According to the criminal complaint, the sixth grader’s mother claimed her son “was walking around like an 80-year-old from the pain in his back” after the incident. School officials have placed Rogers on administrative leave while he faces the music for his alleged crimes. He has been charged with malicious punishment of a child.
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