Montana teacher aides accused of abuse

GREAT FALLS, Mont., Oct. 22 (UPI) -- Two Montana teacher's aides face felony charges for allegedly abusing a special needs middle school student, court records show.

Julie Ann Parish and Kristina Marie Kallies at North Middle School in Great Falls were each charged in Cascade County District Court with a felony count of assaulting a minor and a misdemeanor count of endangering a child's welfare based on the alleged abuse of the 13-year-old boy in December, ABC reported Thursday.

The two aides are accused of abusing the boy by holding his head under a faucet of running water, allowing him to remain in soiled garments for hours, and forcing him to eat his own vomitus when he threw up.

The boy has a limited ability to communicate and was unable to speak of the abuse he allegedly suffered, his mother said.

The aides, who reportedly no longer teach in the district, deny the charges, but other classroom personnel said in court documents they had witnessed the alleged abuse, ABC said.

Randy Tarum, the family's lawyer, said that when the matter came to light, other families with special needs children came forward, some with stories of alleged abuse by the same aides.

"I have about 14 other families who have kids who have been subjected, in one way or another, to abuse in different schools in the district. The abuse comes in varying degrees, and not every child says he was tortured," Tarum said.