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Mother Claims Her Child Was Assaulted By Del Valle ISD Teacher


Thursday night, a mother is at the bedside of her 12-year-old special needs son at Dell Children's Medical Center after she says he was assaulted Wednesday by one of his teachers at Dailey Middle School in east Travis County.

The Travis County Sheriff's Department has confirmed that they received a call to assist EMS inside the school because a child was hurt, and they are investigating the case to see if there was any wrong doing by the teacher.

Jennifer Rodela says her son Jonathan was brought to the hospital by ambulance Wednesday afternoon. "(I was) Shocked, his eye was swollen shut, hemorrhaging around his eyes, marks all over his chest, body and arms. And found out later there was a broken bone in his neck" said Rodela.

Doctors have been closely monitoring the boy and running test to determine the extent of his injuries.

Jonathan has been in the hospital for over a day, recovering from his injuries and wearing a brace around his neck to limit his movement.

Jennifer filed a report Wednesday morning with the Travis County Sheriff's department.

Roger Wade, a spokesperson for the Travis County Sheriff’s Department, says the investigation has just begun and they are still trying to piece things together.

"The case has been forwarded to our special crimes unit. Because a child is involved and an employee of the school district is involved we're going to look into it to see if any criminal activity took place," said Wade.

He says they were contacted by doctors at Dell Children's Medical Center to evaluate Jonathan’s injuries because they believe there are not of his own doing.

Detectives will interview Jonathan and the teacher involved as well as witnesses.

Jonathan's mother says she was told by witnesses exactly what happened. "(They said) That the teacher tackled him to the ground and pretty much choked him with his own arm, wrapped Jonathan's own arm around his neck, and kind of forcefully held him to the ground so he couldn't breathe," she says.

We contacted the Del Valle Independent School District. They say that per district procedures, Del Valle ISD investigates any incident regarding any student and their safety, but would not comment further.

The name of the teacher involved has not been released because no charges have been filed.

Detectives are working with the doctors, and the school to gather information and find out exactly what happen and file the appropriate charges if it’s determined an assault occurred.

By Angel Covarrubias