A former teacher’s aide from Michigan faces charges of child abuse following an alleged incident where she reportedly hurled a 13-year-old special needs student against a window late last year.
An incident report reveals that the child, who is mostly non-verbal and has cognitive abilities akin to a 5-year-old, was reportedly misbehaving in a classroom at The Learning Center. This facility, located near Escanaba, specializes in educating children with moderate to severe disabilities, according to a report by WBUP.
Another aide mentioned that while some form of intervention might have been necessary, the steps taken were excessive given the student’s actions.
During the incident, the classroom teacher was absent, and the boy started standing and sitting repeatedly, a behavior aides noted as common for him. He then began making pinching gestures towards the aide, identified as 54-year-old Robin Popour.
“Robin warned him, saying, if you pinch me, I will slap your hand,” an aide recounted. “Despite the warning, he continued pinching at her and even managed to pinch her hands a few times. Robin then got very close to his face and shouted at him to remain seated.”
At that point, the student rose again, making pinching motions towards Robin’s hands. In response, Robin allegedly grabbed him by the shoulders and forcefully pushed him into the window. The student momentarily froze before retaliating by digging his nails into Robin’s arms.
The teacher returned to the classroom and intervened. As they all left the classroom, one aide said, Popour said, “I don’t give a f*** if I left marks on him.” Another aide quoted her saying, “I don’t care if I got him. He deserved it.”
The other three aides filed reports the next day, and administrators contacted the Delta County Sheriff’s Office. Deputies began investigating and contacted teh student’s parents. Popour was fired.
According to the incident reports, Popour had made concerning statements about that student in the past.
“Robin has said many times throughout the year, she does not like him, has no use for him, and if he ever touches her she will lose her job and hit him back,” said one aide.
“Robin talks openly in the classroom about the things she would do, if [the child] hurt her… it felt to me that Robin was almost looking for something like this to happen,” another said.
Popour, a US citizen, has been charged with third degree child abuse.
