Disabled Hillsborough student tied to chair, documents show

The mother of a severely disabled student tied to his chair last year by a teacher's aide has notified the Hillsborough County School District of a potential lawsuit.

The district and the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office spent more than a year investigating the aide, Steve Kemp, before closing the case in August. No charges were filed.

Kemp, now a social studies teacher at Leto High, was suspended by the school district for five days, which he can spread out over the course of the school year.

Documents obtained by The Tampa Tribune give this account of the incident:

Kemp had been a teacher for four years and was certified to work with exceptional students when he took a summer job in 2008 as a teacher's aide at East Bay High School.

On June 26, 2008, Kemp was left alone with two male students, including a severely disabled 16-year-old boy described as a "runner" because he would often try to leave the classroom.

Kemp moved bookcases against the doors of the classroom to prevent the boy, about 6-feet tall and 185 pounds, from leaving. Then Kemp grabbed a 6-foot coaxial cable and looped it through the back of the boy's harness, tying the boy to a chair.

The teen wore the harness as a restraint on the school bus, but it was never intended for use in the classroom, the mother's attorney Richard Filson said today.

The boy sat that way for at least 30 minutes before a supervisor discovered the incident and reported it to authorities. Though the sheriff's office investigation found no criminal intent, the investigative report says there were signs of child abuse and neglect.

Kemp, a history teacher who told investigators he had no formal experience with severely disabled students, was transferred that fall to a non-classroom job where he assisted with tracking student attendance for the rest of the school year.

More than a year later, on Aug. 24, the district closed its investigation. In a letter from the district's attorney, Thomas Gonzalez, it was noted that the sheriff's office had consulted with the state attorney and determined "it was not in good judgment to use a tool (coaxial cable) not designed and approved to restrain students."

On the day the school district closed its investigation, an attorney for the boy's mother, Cathy Wilson, filed a formal notice that she planned to sue the district. The district has until February to reply.

Spokeswoman Linda Cobbe declined to comment on pending litigation.

During the investigation, Kemp told sheriff's deputies he had asked the regular teacher of the class, Laeticia Muforo, how she controlled some of the students and she told him she used a Rifton chair, a special chair that offers support so a child can sit upright.

Kemp told investigators he asked a supervisor for the chair and that "someone'' suggested he tie up the boy, but Kemp could not remember who, according to the sheriff's report.

Kemp said he found the coaxial cable and thought it would be good to use because it had steel inside and would not knot or come off easily. He said that Muforo was there when he attached the cable to the boy's harness.

Attempts to reach Kemp today were unsuccessful.

Mufuro also was reassigned to non-classroom attendance duties with Kemp at one of the district's office sites. Her personnel records were not available today.

Reached at her home, Muforo said she never knew Kemp used the cable or that he blocked doorways with bookcases.

"I didn't know why I was connected (to the investigation)," she said.

But, according to records, Muforo was in the classroom with the students and another aide the day Kemp used the cable and that she told a school investigator she saw Kemp with a "television cable."

"He did what he did," Muforo said today. "I had no knowledge of what he was doing."

Muforo retired in June, she said, not because of this incident, but "I wanted to pursue other things."