12 On Your Side Investigates: Alleged student abuse at Redcliffe Elementary

AUGUSTA, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) - An investigation is underway at an Aiken County elementary school.

This all comes after allegations that students are being physically and verbally abused.

As a parent, nothing is more important to you than your child.

So when an Aiken County mom and dad say their son came home with bruises, they wanted answers.

12 On Your Side Investigates found they weren’t the only ones.

We found concerns are not over one student, and not from just one parent.

Allegations of abuse have been reported by a school employee.

Even a school board member believes it’s best that the sheriff’s office is now involved.

“For him, going into that school, it’s the same nightmare over and over,” said Emily Satterfield, parent.

Now, Emily Satterfield and her family have reached a breaking point.

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Every day it was, is it gonna happen again? Where is this teacher? Are they still there? And wondering, you know. When is this gonna happen again,” said Emily.

Emily told a deputy that a Redcliffe teacher dragged her son across the playground last fall.

“He was then secluded to the I think psychologist classroom. I’m not sure which classroom, but was secluded to a classroom where each time my child would run at this educator, the educator would shove him to the ground repeatedly until my child stopped,” said Emily.

She says her son came home with red marks all over his arm and bruising on his back.

Six months later, with no answers from the school, Emily’s husband took his frustration to the Aiken County School Board.

" I finally received a response to an email on November 11, saying ‘I will look into it and I will let you know what we find upon investigation.’ To this date, we have received no updates,” said Andrew Satterfield, parent.

Two other parents also told the board they wanted more communication and transparency from Redcliffe Elementary School and the county school district.

School board member Jim Broome’s area includes Redcliffe Elementary. He first learned of the Satterfield’s allegations at the school board meeting.

“So in my opinion, an independent investigation is the only thing that’s going to satisfy this community because I think if it’s done internally at the district, from what I see, the community is not going to be convinced that it was done fairly,” said Jim Broome, District 2 Aiken County School Board.

Since April’s board meeting, we’ve uncovered a second report to the sheriff’s office, a Redcliffe school employee told deputies another teacher is physically and verbally abusing children.

And a third report from a Redcliff Elementary parent alleging a teacher abusing a student, forcing students into corners for extended periods of time, and grabbing their hands by the wrists.

The names of the teachers are redacted, raising questions about how many teachers and students are involved.

“I still worry for my kid because on top of just being absolutely frustrated that there was physically nothing I could do in that moment for my own child,” said Emily.

Something she told board again Tuesday night, the Satterfields are not alone in asking for transparency.

“Hopefully with enough people showing up and with us, continuously showing up until something is done, hopefully that’ll strike somebody into doing something,” said Emily.

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