CHARLESTON, W.Va. — A Kanawha County grand jury has indicted a former Horace Mann Middle School aide for allegedly striking a student multiple times.
The jury on Friday handed down the indictment against James Lynch, who has also been arrested.
Lynch allegedly struck a student four times from February to March. He is additionally accused of squeezing the child’s hand and shoving the student, who has been identified at N.H.
Kanawha County Schools has said it learned of the alleged incidents during an investigation on alleged abuse by a teacher and two other aides.
The three other staff members — 45-year-old Anthony Wilson, 71-year-old Walter Pannell and 65-year-old Lillian Branham — face charges after allegedly being caught on camera physically and verbally abusing students in a special needs classroom.