TBO.com - TBO is Tampa Bay Online

3 Years Before Arrest, Venice School Heard Abuse Allegations

ADVERTISEMENT

By TIFFANY LANKES

The Sarasota Herald-Tribune

Published: August 11, 2008

School officials learned of concerns that Venice Elementary School teacher Diana O'Neill was too rough with her special education teachers as early as 2005, three years before she was arrested on child abuse charges.

A report detailing the findings of a school district investigation into the most recent incidents reveals that staff members took concerns to Principal Theresa Baus on two separate occasions. In one of the cases, Baus contacted administrators at the Sarasota County School District, but O'Neill was left in the classroom.

In February 2005, another teacher reported that O'Neill roughly yanked a child's hand out of his mouth and left a mark on his cheek.

In November 2005, several staff members reported other concerns. They said O'Neill held a child's nose and mouth shut and once made a boy stand behind his chair until he fell down.

O'Neill has been at Venice Elementary School for 18 years, working with students the school system classifies as profoundly mentally handicapped. That designation is reserved for students with the most severe disabilities.

Along with the reports of physical abuse, staff members told investigators that O'Neill was verbally abusive to her students, calling them a "waste of human air" or "retards."

In October 2007 — three months before O'Neill was reported to authorities — Baus gave O'Neill a "stern warning" that no students should be injured in her classroom.

She was arrested in February after two of her classroom aides reported that they saw her repeatedly hit and kick her special education students. In July, the state attorney's office charged her with four counts of child abuse.

O'Neill has pleaded not guilty to the child abuse charges. O'Neill's attorney said the woman used appropriate techniques to control her class and that the aides were mistaken.

Share this:

Loading Comments...

Email Print

ADVERTISEMENT