Sara Seymour, a former elementary school teacher in Brownsburg, Indiana, has escaped prison time after pleading guilty to forcing a 7-year-old boy with special needs to eat his own vomit during lunch.
Seymour, 29, was sentenced to one year in prison on April 21, but under a deal with prosecutors, she will serve no additional time. After pleading guilty to neglect of a dependent, Judge Rhett Stuard gave Seymour credit for two days served and suspended the remaining 363 days.
The disturbing incident happened in February 2023 at Brown Elementary School. According to a probable cause affidavit, Seymour and four other school employees were supervising students in the lunchroom when the boy gagged on his food and vomited. Security footage captured what happened next.
Instead of helping the child, Seymour allegedly told him to sit down. Another teacher handed the boy a tray as he vomited onto it. Then, 63-year-old Deborah Kanipe, another staff member, handed the boy a spoon and watched as he was forced to eat his own vomit.
The affidavit states Seymour and Kanipe stood by and watched as the boy, humiliated and distressed, spooned the vomit into his mouth. After a few bites, he was ordered to wipe up the rest with paper towels.
Police later revealed that Seymour had warned the boy before that if he vomited, he would have to eat it.
Shockingly, no incident report was filed by any of the adults present. School officials didn’t find out until a month later, after the video footage came to light. All five staff members involved either resigned or were fired, including those who witnessed the abuse and failed to report it.
Seymour and Kanipe were both terminated within days of the school’s discovery. Kanipe is facing the same charges of neglect and failure to report, but unlike Seymour, she is fighting the charges in court. Her trial is scheduled for June.
The question now hanging in the air: how does someone plead guilty to forcing a child to eat vomit and walk free?
Here we go again, another ‘plea deal’. I’m truly sick and tired of hearing about plea deals for every crime committed. Why can’t prosecutors go for some real incarceration time.
I am a retired teacher. This makes me more than furious! If that were my child, she’d be eating something else. My grandson is Asperger’s and his parent stay on top if every single thing. It’s the kids who bully and make fun of him, but his parents are the first ones in the principal’s office. They’re super proactive. He’s very bright but thinks the kids are his friends. It’s sad.
I am a teacher and this type of thing infuriates me! This is ABUSE and should have a very severe consequence! This is why the public and patents don’t trust teachers anymore. This is why we are not able to do our jobs teaching and being there for students and families. Why would you trust a group of people when there are constant stories of school staff abusing students and often not getting appropriate consequences. This is also why students and parents can make up and accuse innocent teachers. There is no trust and belief due to the real abuse happening. Makes me sick and until this gets fixed, education will continue to slide downhill.
I couldn’t agree more! One bad apple may not spoil the whole bunch, but one bad teacher gives all teachers a bad name.