Parents in San Angelo have filed a lawsuit alleging that a teacher at Trinity Lutheran School repeatedly mistreated their 4-year-old daughter. The complaint describes incidents captured on school surveillance cameras.
Patrick Killingsworth and Melissa Killingsworth claim their daughter was screamed at, belittled and physically manhandled at the private preschool. The teacher allegedly told the child her parents did not want her and threatened to lock her in a dungeon or send her to jail.
The lawsuit states the teacher was recorded dragging the girl across the classroom and locking her in a dark closet. Additional footage allegedly shows the educator mocking the child in front of classmates and encouraging another student to join in the taunting.
The parents accuse school administrators of ignoring more than four months of warnings about the teacher's mental health. They say leaders continued to assign her to the classroom and failed to preserve the video evidence.
Trinity Lutheran School declined to comment on the lawsuit when contacted on Tuesday. Attorney Russell Button, representing the family, said the school prioritized staffing over child safety.
