MYRTLE BEACH SC April 6 2013— Police arrested a pair of Horry County schools employees Wednesday after authorities reviewed digital recordings of possible, in-classroom abuse involving a 5-year old special needs student at Forestbrook Elementary School.The arrests resulted from an investigation conducted after the child’s parents turned in the recordings to school officials.
Linda Joyce Warriner, 46, and Anna Marie Rogers, 38, of Myrtle Beach are charged with unlawful neglect of a child or helpless person by legal custodian. The police report lists Rogers as a teacher and Warriner as class aide.
Police began an investigation after officers were called on March 20 by officials from the school.
A principal, assistant principal and human resources employee said the school was handling the complaint internally, but wanted to know if the allegations could warrant criminal charges.
Horry County School Superintendent Cindy Ellsberry said Wednesday that Rogers and Warriner are now on administrative leave.
Police said the child’s parents sent the child to Forestbrook Elementary wearing a hidden digital recorder then turned in the recording, on which police said Warriner could be heard telling the child he “was bad and had to go to the office” which is described as a small bathroom in the classroom.
Inside the ‘office,’ police said Warriner made the child repeat over and over how he had misbehaved and wouldn’t do it again.Parts of the recording also include, the child screaming for someone to stop pinching him and not to hit him, the report said. Police said it sounded like someone had been slapped during the recording, but it was impossible to tell who may have been pinching or hitting the child.
Police said that on the recording they also heard a door shut, and Warriner and Rogers speaking, when one of them remarked about “it being a good thing there are not cameras in the room yet.” Source-myrtlebeachonline.com