Another family says their special needs child was locked inside a Rockdale County school bathroom

ROCKDALE COUNTY, Ga. — Another family has come forward to tell Channel 2 Action News a paraprofessional at their school also locked their disabled child in a bathroom.

Channel 2′s Tyisha Fernandes was in Rockdale County where some parents have already gone to the school district to see the video for themselves.

They say their disabled son was locked in a bathroom for 30 minutes and is a child who has seizures, often. They said the last place he needs to be unattended is a bathroom.

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“I was speechless. I was speechless because I couldn’t understand how a professional who is fully trained to handle Eric’s needs would take such action,” Eric’s father, Earl Lawes, said.

Eric and Sherryann Lawes have been fostering and adopting children with challenges for the last 30 years.

They’ve had Eric since he was just one. He’s 14 now, and they say that although he’s nonverbal and has autism, he’s not a child who has meltdowns.

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On the first week of school, the principal of General Ray Davis Middle School called them.

“She told my wife that Eric was found in the bathroom unattended by himself and then reassured us that nothing is wrong with him. He’s fine and everything, no need to worry and there would be further investigation,” Earl Lawes said.

About two weeks later, they say the Georgia Division of Family & Children Services called and told them something different.

“She then said, ‘No, that’s not what the school told me. The school told me that Eric was locked in the bathroom by a paraprofessional,’” Earl Lawes said.

They requested to see the video. They say it showed a paraprofessional put their son in the bathroom. The parapro then put a chair in front of the door and had another student sit there, so their son couldn’t get out.

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The parents say Eric has been traumatized ever since.

When Fernandes asked if it scared him, Sherryann Lawes answered, “Yes it did. It really did. From eating, going to the toilet, from listening to us.”

A spokesperson for the school district told Fernandes, the two paraprofessionals involved in this incident are no longer working for Rockdale County schools. She also said the district is still investigating and DFCS is doing their own investigation.

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