BUFFALO, N.Y. (WKBW) — OLV Human Services has placed three employees on leave due to allegations of physical mistreatment of students at Victory Learning Center.
According to OLV Human Services, on November 5, its leadership learned of and began investigating allegations of physical mistreatment of students by an employee that occurred on October 10. On November 6, OLV Human Services contacted the City of Lackawanna Police Department and filed a police report against the employee. OLV Human Services said the employee has been placed on leave and two other employees have been placed on leave "due to their conduct in the situation."
We spoke with the parents of two students who said that they were instructed to come to the school, where they were shown security camera footage of their children. Both kids have autism and are nonverbal.
WATCH: 'My heart dropped': Parents allege their children were abused at Victory Learning Center in Lackawanna
“I seen my child eating, and for whatever reason, a staff member grabbed his arm and yolked him up,” Aniya Wiggins, the mother of 7-year-old Kaydin Smith, said. “I had seen another clipping where [Kaydin] was playing with a toy, and, for whatever reason, a staff member put her arm in the air, swung her arm back and hit him on his back-shoulder type of area hard. Hit him hard…My heart dropped. Once I had seen that, I couldn’t do nothing but break down and cry.”
“I saw his face being smushed, him being up against a wall, yelling at him, pointing her finger, her yolking him up. It was just horrible,” Diamond Tooles, the mother of 6-year-old De’Mario Tooles, said. “It broke my heart. I just never imagined anything like that, like I don’t put my hands on nobody’s kids.”
When either mom asked to record the footage of their kids, they said the school quickly said no.
Q: “Did you think that was weird?”
Tooles: “Yes. Because, at the end of the day, if I want to get my own footage of what’s going on with my kid, I should have the legal right to.”
Both mothers have since removed their boys from the school.
WATCH: OLV Human Services places 3 employees on leave after allegations of physical mistreatment of students
In a statement to 7 News, OLV Human Services said in part:
"OLV Human Services will continue to investigate this situation and cooperate with local law enforcement. Due to the nature of services provided to students at the Victory Learning Center, the New York State Justice Center and Child Protective Services may also conduct their own investigations into the mistreatment. OLV Human Services will actively cooperate with these agencies and law enforcement throughout their investigations.
OLV Human Services acts in the best interests of the health and safety of all our students, while complying with all mandates set forth by our partnering agencies. Our organization will let this legal process play out. As such, OLV Human Services won’t be commenting further on this topic."
According to OLV Human Services, it provides specialized services through the Victory Learning Center for students who are diagnosed with autism or a cognitive disability paired with a mental health diagnosis.
