CALDWELL COUNTY, N.C. -- A Caldwell County special needs teacher accused of forcing a student into a refrigerator box as punishment returned to work on Tuesday.
The teacher received a 10-day unpaid suspension after accusations surfaced that she forced a special needs student inside the box.
The Hudson Middle School student's mother, Joy Amatuccio, was horrified when she learned her son’s teacher used the box as a “timeout.”
NewsChannel 36 has learned the school system's investigation is over, and the teacher is being transferred to West Caldwell High School for the rest of the school year.
She is also expected to return to teaching next year.
“What she’s done is illegal and wrong. If I had done that to one of my children I would have child protective services here. I would probably be in jail,” she said of the teacher’s punishment.
NewsChannel 36 reporter Dianne Gallagher's original story sparked a statewide investigation that is still ongoing.
The boy’s mother has started a Facebook page to get "Justice for Jacob.”
“They should have taken her license. She should not be working with these children. If her heart is not in it then she should not be doing it,” the victim’s mother added.
“Ten days with no pay and back in the school system with kids, it make me wonder how much they really regard the safety of our children and how much they regard what kind of people they put in place with our children,” Amatuccio added.
“I can never change what has happened to him in life. All I can do is make sure every day is better for him and as long as I’m alive, I will do that."
