HENRICO COUNTY, Va. β A Henrico County mother is demanding accountability from school officials after her daughter with a disability was allegedly strangled by a school employee at the Advanced Career Education (ACE) Center on the campus of Virginia Randolph in January.
Toya Nugin's daughter was allegedly assaulted by Erin Travers, an administrative assistant at Henrico County Public Schools. Travers was arrested by Henrico Police approximately one week after the incident.
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Mom speaks out after daughter allegedly strangled by Henrico school staff member
"What has the school done?" Nugin said.
Nugin believes she prompted the arrest after demanding accountability from school officials. She questions the protocols following incidents like the one her daughter experienced, saying she was told the instructor was allowed to leave the school building without being questioned by authorities.
"My problem is that you guys didn't have her checked out, you didn't have the cops on the scene and you let this lady go," Nugin said. "If you would have called [the police] immediately they would have known not to let her off the premises. There was an assault."
CBS 6 reached out to Henrico County Public Schools asking for a timeline of events leading up to the alleged assault and the communications that the school division says they had with school resource officers following the incident.
In response, the school division said that while immediate communication was confined to the students in the classroom who were given the opportunity to call their parents before school resource officers were notified, they could not provide more specifics citing personal matters and an ongoing police investigation.
The school division added that in general every situation that occurs in the school is different and rather than a uniform response, each situation and the communication that follows is handled on a case by case basis.
The school division also said that it reviews policies and best practices for student engagement with new staff who join HCPS in addition to reviewing expectations for providing safe learning environments for students, making sure that they are aware of their surroundings and intervening when appropriate for the safety of students and colleagues.
"I can't wrap my mind on how she feels. I can't make it better. I wish I could make it better," Nugin said.
At this time, the school division says Travers is still on administrative leave and in police custody. Travers has a court appearance scheduled for Thursday at Henrico Juvenile Domestic Court.
This is a developing story. Email the CBS 6 Newsroom if you have additional information to share.
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