MARIETTA, Ga. -
A special education teacher is accused of putting a special needs student in a trash can last month.
The incident took place on April 30 at Mount Bethel Elementary School in East Cobb during the after school program.
According to the arrest warrant, a second grade student with autism was upset about coming in from outside as well as another student bothering him.
The warrant says the child was “screaming and wouldn't calm down.” Police say Mary Katherine Pursley, who wasn't assigned to ASP, came inside and told the boy about Oscar the Grouch from Sesame Street.
The warrant states she told the boy “if he had trashy behavior like Oscar, he'd go to the trash can.”
The teacher picked up the student, held him upside down by the legs and lowered him head first into a trash can down to his shoulders, according to the warrant.
Police say the child was crying and yelling for Pursley to “stop.” They also say three people witnessed the incident, including the ASP director and two paraprofessionals. All three are employees at Mount Bethel Elementary School.
Pursley was arrested Monday and faces a cruelty to children charge. She has since bonded out of jail.
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