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SAN ANGELO, Texas – The Killingsworth family trusted Trinity Lutheran to provide a safe and nurturing environment for their four-year-old daughter. Instead, the lawsuit filed by The Button Law Firm shows that leadership continued to place a struggling teacher in charge of young children despite months of direct warnings that she needed help and feared a meltdown at work.
Four months after the teacher's initial warning, that feared meltdown happened. The 4-year-old girl was subjected to screaming, humiliation, threats, isolation, aggressive handling, and physical mistreatment by her teacher.
This was not sudden or unpredictable. Trinity Lutheran had repeated opportunities to intervene but continued prioritizing staffing needs over the safety of the children in its care.
Click here to read the full petition.
Over Four Months of Red Flags Were Ignored
Beginning in November, the teacher repeatedly told the Trinity Lutheran director that she was experiencing severe panic attacks and could not mentally or physically come to work. She tried to call out and attempted to quit.
Rather than giving her the time and support she requested, Trinity Lutheran pressured her to keep reporting to work because the preschool was short-staffed.
By February, the teacher told leadership that she had been suicidal, could not control what was happening, and needed help. She was hospitalized after crying and shaking on the floor of the principal’s office.
Exactly one month before the incident, she warned the preschool director that her “worst nightmare” was having a meltdown at work.
Trinity Lutheran knew she was in crisis. Still, the director continued putting her in charge of preschoolers because they did not have enough staff.
What Happened Inside the San Angelo Classroom
Surveillance footage from March 24 shows the teacher repeatedly targeting the four-year-old girl.
She screamed at the young child, mocked her crying, called her embarrassing, and told the class that something was wrong with her brain. When the little girl asked for help, she was belittled.
The teacher then pretended to call the police and told the little girl that she was going to jail. She said the little girl’s parents did not want her and that she would never see them again. The young child cried and begged for her mother and father while the teacher continued terrorizing her.
The video footage shows the teacher pushing the little girl to the ground, dragging her across the room, slamming her into a cubby wall, and forcing her into a dark closet. She struck the young child, grabbed her arm, and repeatedly told her that nobody liked or wanted her.
Other children were visibly frightened. One young girl covered both ears for several minutes. Another said she was scared.
The teacher’s conduct was unacceptable, but Trinity Lutheran’s administration had months’ notice that she was in crisis. She repeatedly asked for help and warned that she feared having a meltdown at work. The director continued placing her in charge of young children anyway.
Trinity Lutheran Continuously Failed to Intervene
Surveillance footage shows Trinity Lutheran employees walking past the classroom as the little girl screamed. The preschool director had also reviewed earlier footage showing the teacher humiliating the young child and removing the young girl from the room.
Still, no one removed the teacher, checked on the little girl, notified the Killingsworth family, or monitored the classroom. After the teacher physically removed the child from the classroom, the principal returned the young child to the same room, where the conduct continued.
Important Surveillance Footage of the Attacks Is Missing
Trinity Lutheran’s surveillance system allowed leadership to watch live video and preserve recordings. However, significant portions of March 24 were not saved, including the final hour and a half that the teacher remained in the classroom. Video from the following day is also missing.
As seen in the lawsuit, Trinity Lutheran preserved only portions of the footage instead of the complete record.
The Teacher Was Put Back in the Classroom After the Meltdown
Hours after leaving work, the teacher returned to Trinity Lutheran visibly impaired. She had difficulty walking and answering basic questions, prompting the director to take her keys and arrange for someone else to drive her home.
The next morning, she told the director that she could not remember the previous day. Despite that admission, Trinity Lutheran allowed her to return to work.
The teacher once again became extremely irate and demanded that the four-year-old be removed from her class. Even then, the principal continued to place the child in harm’s way by leaving her in the classroom until a substitute became available.
The Parents of the Four-Year-Old Were Kept in the Dark
Leadership at Trinity Lutheran viewed at least part of the footage on March 24. The next morning, they issued the teacher a written reprimand for violating Texas Minimum Standards involving humiliation, rejection, and yelling.
Still, Trinity Lutheran did not tell the Killingsworth family the screaming, humiliation, threats, isolation, aggressive handling, and physical mistreatment which the director had already seen. The family was not informed until March 29, five days later. Even then, Trinity Lutheran minimized what happened and refused the family’s request to view the footage.
Holding Trinity Lutheran and All Negligent Childcare Facilities Accountable
State investigations cited Trinity Lutheran for improper supervision, prohibited punishment, aggressive physical handling, placing a young child in a dark room, and humiliating and threatening children.
What happened to this little girl was easily preventable. The red flags were clear, and Trinity Lutheran had repeated opportunities to act, but failed.
Through this lawsuit, The Button Law Firm is seeking accountability for the administrative decisions that exposed this little girl to preventable physical and emotional harm.
The Button Law Firm Fights for Texas Families
When your child is hurt, your family deserves answers. Our team is here to support families in San Angelo and across Texas by helping them understand what happened, what options may be available, and how to move forward.
At The Button Law Firm, we represent kids in daycare and child injury cases to help them get life-changing results and justice against bad daycares, schools, and companies that abuse and neglect the safety of children.
Call 214-699-4409, email intake@buttonlawfirm.com, or fill out our contact form to share your story or experience with our team.
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