By Josh Poland
WHEELERSBURG, Ohio - Investigators are calling it a "horrific" child abuse case.
Three Scioto County residents--Juan Carlos Sanchez, 44, Bobbi Sue Pack, 31, and Edwina Louis, 52,--were arrested earlier this week and face child endangerment charges for what detectives say the three did to three of Pack’s children.
Detectives say the adults tied the children to their beds with ropes and chains in their Wheelersburg home and also forced the children to go long stretches without eating.
The action of an online teacher to notify authorities about the abuse is drawing praise from the online education community.
Detectives with the Scioto County Sherriff's Office say the children were online students of Ohio Virtual Academy.
One of the children messaged her online teacher to tell them that she and her siblings were being abused. That is when detectives say the teacher contacted authorities.
"We are so very proud of this teacher, absolutely,” said Shannon Bozigar, professional development and training coordinator with Ohio Virtual Academy.
Neither the school nor the sheriff’s office is releasing the teacher's name.
But Bozigar says the teacher had been through the same child abuse prevention training that all teachers at the school are required to receive.
"We take time to train not only in child safety and violence prevention but in all areas to keep really the core of our mission which is educating students and keeping them safe,” Bozigar said.
What the Ohio Virtual Academy teacher did in notifying authorities is drawing praise from other e-schools across the state such as Columbus-based ECOT.
"I would hope that all of our teachers would handle the situation the same way that this teacher did,” said Rick Teeters, ECOT Superintendent.
Teeters says ECOT teachers go through an initial child abuse prevention training program and refresher courses every three years.
Three Scioto County residents--Juan Carlos Sanchez, 44, Bobbi Sue Pack, 31, and Edwina Louis, 52,--were arrested earlier this week and face child endangerment charges for what detectives say the three did to three of Pack’s children.
Detectives say the adults tied the children to their beds with ropes and chains in their Wheelersburg home and also forced the children to go long stretches without eating.
The action of an online teacher to notify authorities about the abuse is drawing praise from the online education community.
Detectives with the Scioto County Sherriff's Office say the children were online students of Ohio Virtual Academy.
One of the children messaged her online teacher to tell them that she and her siblings were being abused. That is when detectives say the teacher contacted authorities.
"We are so very proud of this teacher, absolutely,” said Shannon Bozigar, professional development and training coordinator with Ohio Virtual Academy.
Neither the school nor the sheriff’s office is releasing the teacher's name.
But Bozigar says the teacher had been through the same child abuse prevention training that all teachers at the school are required to receive.
"We take time to train not only in child safety and violence prevention but in all areas to keep really the core of our mission which is educating students and keeping them safe,” Bozigar said.
What the Ohio Virtual Academy teacher did in notifying authorities is drawing praise from other e-schools across the state such as Columbus-based ECOT.
"I would hope that all of our teachers would handle the situation the same way that this teacher did,” said Rick Teeters, ECOT Superintendent.
Teeters says ECOT teachers go through an initial child abuse prevention training program and refresher courses every three years.
I think this brings up a great point, if there are a growing number of children doing online schooling who is physically checking in on them. I believe that children have to have access to an environment w/ limited distractions & that is safe in order to be successful at online schooling. Sometimes youth who are a danger to themselves or others are moving towards online education. So, if that is the trend I believe that there needs to be a caseworker that checks in on the youth to ensure that we see the space the youth is working in and evaluate the environment. It's great that this teacher was able to get help for this family but what about other youth who do online schooling and don't leave the house, who helps then? The youth is lucky they were able to alert the teacher to this situation but some don't have the ability to do that.
ReplyDeleteIt is great that these teachers are also being taught the same child abuse prevention strategies. This does bring up a good point that online schools are missing that extra personal support for these kids. It is important that kids learn to deal with social situations, adults and peers. It also does provide a safety factor that if a kid is being abused it is easier to identify in person than over the internet. I think online schools should provide some monthly face to face contact time with teachers and students.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Letitia.
ReplyDeleteWorking in a school has really shown me how much you learn about physically seeing a child. Although we do do home visits we interact with kids in a safe environment for them to share us things they normally wouldn't (if around their parents). Obviously this is my opinion. Online school has it's own pros and cons to begin with and adding in That some parents use this as a way to hide out or stay under the radar just proves that the educational sector has a long way to go.
Thankfully this youth reached out as well as the teacher to the correct authorities. However it is discouraging to think that there are probably many others that will never reach out.