LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- A former Indiana teacher has learned her punishment for forcing a special needs student to eat his own vomit.
A judge sentenced Sara Seymour to probation after she pleaded guilty to neglect of a dependent as a misdemeanor charge.
According to police, Seymour was a Life Skills teacher at Brown Elementary School in Brownsburg, Indiana, at the time of the Feb. 16, 2023 incident. Brownsburg is located in central Indiana, less than 22 miles northwest of Indianapolis.
Security video in the lunchroom captured Seymour telling a special needs student to eat his own vomit.
Citing police, FOX59 News reported the former teacher told the student that, if he vomited, he would have to eat whatever he threw up. Police said when the boy threw up, he was given a spoon by an aide — Debra Kanipe.
Seymour and Kanipe stood on either side of the student while he ate a portion of it, and cleaned up the rest with paper towels.
School officials didn't learn about the incident until April 2023, leading to Seymour's firing and a police investigation. Kanipe and another person were also fired, according to FOX59, and a fourth person, a contractor not employed by the school district, resigned.
As part of Seymour's plea deal, the court dismissed an additional charge of failure to make a report.
She was sentenced to 365 days in jail, with 363 days suspended to probation, according to court documents. She was given credit for time served.
Seymour also has to surrender her teaching license to the Indiana Department of Education. A no-contact order with the victim also remains in effect.
According to FOX59, the state doesn't want Seymour to work in any "direct-service position" with someone under the age of 18. It also recommended she stay at home between 10 p.m. and 5 a.m.
Four other teachers are also charged in the case, including Kanipe. Police said they were either involved or witnessed the incident, and none of them reported it to school administrators. Kanipe was charged with neglect of a dependent and failure to make a report. Her case is still pending, FOX59 said, and a jury trial is scheduled for June.
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