Sara Seymour, left, and Debra Kanipe (Mugshots: Hendrick County Sheriff’s Department)
Five educators face charges after at least two of them forced a 7-year-old boy to eat his vomit, according to cops in Brownsburg, Indiana.
The allegation stems from an incident in February when Sara Seymour, 27, a life skills teacher at Brown Elementary School, allegedly told the victim that if he vomited, he would have to eat it up, officials said. Life skills teacher Julie Taylor, 48, allegedly gave a tray for the child to vomit on.
He vomited, and life skills instructional aid Debra Kanipe, 63, gave him a spoon, officers wrote. The 7-year-old was allegedly forced to consume some of what he retched up.
“Both Seymour and Kanipe stood at each side of the child while he consumed a portion of the vomit,” officers said.
The child was also forced to clean the rest with paper towels.
Life skills instruction aid Kristen Mitchell, 38, and Megan King, 24, a registered behavioral technician working for the company K1ds Count Therapy, were also allegedly there and saw the incident happen, police said.
All five women are charged with failure to report, a misdemeanor. Seymour and Kanipe also face a count of neglect of a dependent.
According to city police, school district cops contacted them on the evening of April 12 regarding a report of Seymour and Kaniple mistreating the child during lunch in February 2023.
Cops noted that four other people were potentially involved. All six were put on administrative leave on April 13 before they had further contact with kids, according to officers.
The school district told K1ds County Therapy they could not be on school district property pending the investigation.
“Ultimately, the termination process for Seymour and Kanipe was initiated while the others remain on administrative leave pending the BCSC School Board rulings,” police said.
The K1ds County employee still cannot be on school district property.
“The BCSC, the third-party contractor, Kids County, and all involved individuals have been cooperative during the course of the investigation,” officers said.
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