Ind. school employees charged after 7-year-old student allegedly told to eat his own vomit

BROWNSBURG, Ind. (TCD) — Several school employees face charges after a 7-year-old student was allegedly told to eat his own vomit.

According to a news release from the Brownsburg Police Department, on Wednesday, April 12, officials were notified that Sara Seymour, 27, and Debra Kanipe, 63, reportedly mistreated a 7-year-old student during lunch at Brown Elementary in February.

Detectives obtained footage of the incident that showed the student eating his lunch. At some point, he stood up and began “gagging on his food.” The child then reportedly vomited onto a tray provided by Julie Taylor, 48, a life skills teacher at the school.

In the video, police said Seymour, also a life skills teacher, and Kanipe, a life skills instructional aide, were seen standing on each side of the child. Seymour then allegedly handed the child a spoon, and the student ate some of his vomit. Afterward, police said the footage shows the child cleaning up the rest of his vomit with paper towels.

Twenty-four-year-old Megan King, a registered behavioral technician, and 38-year-old Kirsten Mitchell, a life skills instructional aide, were also reportedly present but didn’t report the incident.

Police said the termination process has started for Seymour and Kanipe. In an update obtained by WXIN-TV, Brownsburg schools said the termination process has also commenced for the other suspects in the case.

Police presented the evidence from the investigation to the Hendricks County Prosecutor’s Office, and as a result, Seymour and Kanipe were each charged with neglect of a dependent and failure to report. Taylor, Mitchell, and King were each charged with failure to report.

Seymour and Kanipe were both booked into the Hendricks County Jail on April 26 and released the same day.