Teacher Locks Kindergartener in Dark Room- then forgets HIM

[link to www.chron.com]


CALDWELL, Idaho (AP) — A kindergarten teacher locked a 5-year-old boy in a small, dark room alone at the end of a school day then forgot the child there for over an hour, according to a southwestern Idaho father.

School officials said Friday they were investigating after hearing from James Cagle, who says that when his wife found their son the boy was crying and had urinated on himself.

"He was scared," Cagle told Boise television station KTVB ( [link to DON'T_USE-THIS]

"You know just think about that," he added. "A 5-year-old boy."

Cagle said he and his wife panicked when their son didn't come home from his morning kindergarten class Wednesday. About 45 minutes after he was supposed to be home, they headed to Washington Elementary School to look for him.

Cagle said his wife and a school secretary found the boy crying and afraid in the small room in the dark, where he had apparently been for around an hour and a half after the teacher put him there for misbehaving.

"I know that if I locked my child in a room long enough for him to urinate on himself, I'd be going to jail or child protective services would dang sure be here taking him out of my house that night," Cagle said.

School officials dispute that the room was locked, saying the teacher would not have had a key. Assistant District Superintendent Monica White also noted that the door to the room has a large window, which allows light in from the hallway.