S.C. teacher's aide accused of mistreating special needs students

By Andy Paras - The (Charleston) Post and Courier

CHARLESTON -- A former North Charleston teacher's aide is accused of mistreating two special needs students.

Irene Andrews, 60, of North Charleston is charged with two counts of cruelty toward a child. She is out on personal recognizance after she turned herself in Wednesday.

Andrews was no longer working for the Charleston County School District as of Friday, said General Counsel John Emerson.

A teacher at A.C. Corcoran Elementary School saw the suspect holding a crying, 4-year-old autistic student by his bare feet Oct. 21, according to a police report. The suspect struck the bottom of his feet at least five times with a plastic ruler, the report said. The suspect told the teacher, “You didn't see anything,” the report stated.

The teacher reported the incident to the principal. The principal also told police the suspect had been disciplined in September for locking a student in a bathroom as punishment. According to a report, the suspect held the door shut while a 4-year-old special needs student yelled and tried to get out. A teacher let the child out and reported the incident internally, but school officials did not tell police.

Police questioned why Charleston County School District officials didn't tell them about the incidents sooner. The principal waited three hours before reporting the ruler incident to police, a report stated.

The principal told police she was told by a associate superintendent not to notify police until she heard back from district officials, the report stated.

School officials said Friday that everyone took the incident seriously and that there was never any intent not to call police.