A Rebecca Boone Elementary teacher has been charged with child endangerment after authorities say she restrained a student and encouraged classmates to kick him during a classroom incident in April.
Malerie O’Brien, who has taught in the Warren County R-III School District since 2020, was charged with one misdemeanor count of second-degree endangering the welfare of a child. She was placed on paid leave Aug. 21 after district officials learned of the charge,Superintendent Dr. Gregg Klinginsmith told The Record.
According to the probable cause statement filed by School Resource Officer Scott Taylor, he was outside the school during dismissal when he witnessed O’Brien escorting the victim, a student, out of the building.
Afterwards, O’Brien told Taylor and a witness that the victim had been disruptive in her second-grade class, kicking other students and calling them names and she had “lost her shit,” according to the probable cause statement.
O’Brien said she had separated the victim from the class for disruptive behavior.
On April 16, the mother of another student in the class told Taylor her child had witnessed O’Brien grab the victim by the back of his jacket and tell other class members to kick him as punishment for his behavior.
According to the probable cause statement, the witness said multiple students did kick the victim at O’Brien’s instruction.
Taylor, in conjunction with an investigator from the Missouri Children’s Division, interviewed five students in the class who corroborated those events.
According to the probable cause statement, O’Brien told students to “take care of themselves,” and that they could kick the victim back if he kicked them. They also reported that several other students kicked the victim while O’Brien restrained him.
The victim also told investigators O’Brien grabbed him by the jacket hard enough to choke him and that he sustained a bruise from being kicked.
During an interview with investigators, O’Brien admitted restraining the student and acknowledged that at least two classmates kicked him while she held him. She said she told students to keep their hands to themselves, but admitted she lost control of the situation.
The district initially conducted its own internal investigation and placed O’Brien on leave from April 17 to May 8. Klinginsmith said officials were unable to substantiate abuse or neglect at that time, and O’Brien returned to the classroom through the end of the school year and summer school.
“We did not believe that to be substantiated,” said Klinginsmith. “We’re not 100% sure that happened.”
The district received preliminary findings from the children’s division investigation on May 25. On June 2, the children’s division reported they did not find substantiated claims of child abuse, but did find substantiated claims of child neglect, according to Klinginsmith.
He said that decision was being appealed by O’Brien, and since the process was still ongoing, she was not placed on leave at that time.
Klinginsmith said O’Brien will remain on leave until the criminal case is resolved. She is scheduled to appear in court Sept. 30.
