Delegate who indicted teacher for attacking and forcing children to eat modeling clay says that municipality ‘did nothing’ | Acre

A teacher was charged with assaulting a child and forcing two others to eat modeling clay, in Cruzeiro do Sul, in the interior of Acre. Four other people, who worked at the school, were indicted in another case for omission. After the repercussions of the case, the teacher was transferred to another city.

O g1 spoke with delegate Renan Santana, head of the Police Station Specialized in Assistance to Women and Protection of Children and Adolescents (Dempca). According to him, the crimes took place in August 2023, and, at the time of the events, the municipality did not institute any procedure to investigate the case. The school also did not report the incident to authorities.

As it involves minors, the case is investigated in secret and the names of those investigated and the school were not disclosed.

According to the delegate, two investigations were opened. The first was against the teacher, who was allegedly caught on video pulling a student’s ear and forcing two other students to eat modeling clay.

In the second investigation, the delegate investigated the fact that school employees had not reported the crime to the authorities. “I realized that nothing had been done administratively, so I started investigating public agents. Then, based on that, I carried out another investigation. They were two separate investigations”, he says.

The investigation into the omission of public agents was based on article 26 of the Henry Borel law, which states that it is a crime to fail to report to public authorities the practice of violence, cruel or degrading treatment or violent forms of education, correction or discipline against child or adolescent or the abandonment of an incapacitated person. The article provides for a prison sentence of six months to three years.

“It was a serious situation and it was filmed, taken inside the classroom and demonstrates the teacher’s episode. It was proven there, there was no doubt about whether to call the police or the Public Prosecutor’s Office or someone else. The municipality did not institute any procedure, he did nothing, then the investigation was carried out in this regard”, comments the delegate.

The delegate says that some of the employees involved confessed to committing the crime. The teacher was investigated for the criminal offense of article 136 of the Penal Code, a crime of ill-treatment, with the reason for increasing the sentence due to the age of the victim (the sentence is increased by one third if the crime is committed against a person under 14 years old).

Article 136 says that exposing the life or health of a person under your authority, custody or supervision to danger, for the purpose of education, teaching, treatment or custody, whether by depriving him of food or essential care, or by subjecting him to labor excessive or inappropriate, whether abusing means of correction or discipline, provides for imprisonment from two months to one year, or a fine.

The next steps in the process, according to Santana, will be to make the investigative procedure available to the Judiciary, to the Public Prosecutor’s Office of Acre, so that the complaint can be filed and the Civil Police can be requested to take action or the investigation, which is being processed under judicial secrecy, can be archived. child preservation.

Santana said that the family of one of the attacked children was heard, but no forensic examination was carried out, due to the fact that too much time had already passed and any injuries that may have existed had probably disappeared.

The municipal secretary of Education, Sports and Leisure of Cruzeiro do Sul, Edvaldo Gomes de Oliveira, said that the teacher was not from the municipality and was on loan to supply the staff. “The teacher was on an exchange system, she did not belong to the municipality of Cruzeiro do Sul, she was exchanged from the municipality of Marechal Thaumaturgo. The procedure was to immediately return her to the municipality of origin and make the replacement so that she would not there would be harm to the teaching of other children and the child involved”, he stated.

Oliveira also said that administrative procedures against the employees were taken immediately and assistance to the child was provided. “The fact from an administrative point of view is that the administrative measures were taken at the time. That was last year. The school, as far as I know, provided all the assistance the child needed after what happened”, he comments.

The secretary clarifies that the other employees will respond in “some way” and the entire management was changed after internal elections at the school. “One of the people involved is no longer the director, there was an election and he changed. I believe that the entire management had to change due to the election, now it is a new management”, says Oliveira.

Last Friday (26) Cruzeiro do Sul city hall released a statement of repudiation after the episode became public. (Check the full note below)

In a publication made on the city hall’s social networks, Mayor Zequinha Lima declared that immediate measures were taken in response to the events, including the removal of those involved. Furthermore, he said that the city hall is fully collaborating with law enforcement authorities to fully clarify the situation.

“Cruzeiro do Sul City Hall publicly expresses its total rejection of any form of school violence. It considers it unacceptable for students to be victims of mistreatment in an educational environment.

In view of the recent events involving reports of violence against a student at a Municipal Education Network School, it informs that it removed those involved in the allegations and fully collaborates with the police authorities to investigate and clarify the entire situation.

It reinforces its commitment to education and respect for the rights of children and adolescents, and reiterates that it will spare no effort to guarantee a safe and welcoming school environment for everyone.

Mayor – José de Souza Lima (Zequinha Lima)”