Woman Suing City For $10M After Special-Needs Son Allegedly Punched By Teacher
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- The mother of a 10-year-old special-education student who was allegedly punched by his teacher in class is suing the city for $10 million.
The boy, called "M.B." in court papers, is traumatized from what his teacher did in late January at P.S. 118 in Queens, his mother's lawyer, Paul Weitz , told WCBS 880's Alex Silverman.
Mother Of Special-Needs Student Suing City For $10M After Allegedly Being Punched By Teacher
The teacher, Alexander Perry, accused the boy of cheating, cursed at him and then punched him with a closed fist, prosecutors said. He then threatened the rest of the class to stay quiet about the incident, Weitz said.
"And apparently, this has been ongoing for some period of time, according to M.B., and he was afraid to come forward earlier," Weitz said.
Perry is facing assault charges.
"Instead of learning how to function in the world, he learned how not to trust authority figures," Weitz said of the child. "He's scared to death."
Weitz added that the money will pay for whatever care "M.B." might need in the future.
The boy's mother "wants the teachers to be better trained, how to deal with autistic children," Weitz said.
The city Law Department said it would review the lawsuit, but had no comment beyond that.
Sources told Silverman the Education Department is in the process of firing Perry. He has been out of the classroom since the incident.
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