Teacher at Alpine Public School facing two counts of assault: police

Kitchener -

A Waterloo Region teacher has been charged after allegations that a teacher had “taped two children with masking tape while in the classroom,” according to a news release from the Waterloo Regional Police Service.

The 52-year-old Waterloo woman is facing two counts of assault.

Police said they began their investigation on October 22 after receiving a report from Family and Children’s Services of Waterloo Region.

The families of the two children spoke with CTV News last week, and again on Thursday.

The parent of one child said his family is still in shock.

“We can’t sleep, we can’t absorb what happened.”

Almost two weeks after the incident at Alpine Public School, the parent said their child still lives in fear.

“He still feels that maybe somewhere it’s his fault because the teacher made him feel that way.”

CTV News is not identifying the families to protect the children involved.

“As a results of a joint investigation by a youth protection unit as well as Family and Children’s Services of the Waterloo Region a 52 year-old female has been arrested and charged with two counts of assault,” said Cst. Andre Johnson of the Waterloo Regional Police Service.

One family said their child was taped to a desk by his teacher. The other child said the teacher used tape as a punishment on him three times.

A spokesperson from the Waterloo Region District School Board says confidentiality prevents them from discussing the particulars of the case, but did email a statement to CTV News after the charges were made public.

“We are aware that Waterloo Regional Police Services made an arrest in relation to the reported allegations,” said Eusis Dougan-McKenzie, interim Chief Communications Officer at the Waterloo Region District School Board.

“The individual in question is an employee of the Waterloo Region District School Board, and when we were first made aware of the situation, the individual was assigned to home.”

CTV News was interviewing the father when he received a call from police, letting him know about the arrest.

The family said they are happy to see happy to see charges laid, but don’t believe it’s enough.

Both families have previously told CTV News they believe these incidents were racially motivated.

“I want the school, I want the school board and I want Doug Ford to take action on it,” said the father. “I want my MPP to take action on it. I want everyone to take notice of it. Make sure it doesn’t happen to anyone. It could be your kid.”

In an interview last week, the mother of the other child said she was considering changing schools due to impact of the incident on her family.

On Thursday she confirmed both her children will be transferring to online learning as of Monday.

The accused teacher is scheduled to appear in court on December 8.