A Henderson elementary school worker slapped a 6-year-old special education student’s face with a stack of papers after the boy hit her head, according to police.
Julia Martinez-Ebner, 44, was arrested Wednesday by the Clark County School District Police Department. She faces one felony child abuse or neglect charge, online Henderson Justice Court records show.
Martinez-Ebner is a literacy and language intervention specialist at Robert Taylor Elementary School in Henderson and has been placed on unpaid leave, the school district said.
Police responded to Taylor Elementary on Sept. 16 after its assistant principal reported that a staff member had slapped a special education student’s face.
Surveillance video showed the boy, 6, holding a container of printer toner before the assistant principal grabbed it from his hands, according to police. The assistant principal told police the boy slapped her arm while trying and retrieve the toner.
The boy then slapped Martinez-Ebner’s face, and Martinez-Ebner responded by slapping the boy’s face with a stack of papers she was holding, and the boy fell to the ground, according to video surveillance described in the report.
“Martinez is observed striking (the boy) and subsequently throwing papers at him while (the boy) was lying on the ground,” the report said. “Following the incident, (the boy) is observed holding his face and crying while remaining on the ground.”
Police found Martinez-Ebner sitting in a conference room while holding an ice bag to her left ear. She asked for medical personnel and said, “I feel like I’m going to pass out,” the report said. Martinez-Ebner later emailed the district a hospital note saying she could not return to work until Sept. 19, the report added.
The boy, found in the nurse’s office, did not report any pain or have any visible injuries and told police Martinez-Ebner had hit him.
The report said the boy is a special education student, but the nature of his disability was redacted. He does not have autism, the boy’s foster parents told police.
His foster parents said they did not want to press charges against Martinez-Ebner, but police recommended she be charged, according to the report. Martinez-Ebner surrendered to school police on Wednesday, the report said.
“Considering (the boy)’s age and circumstances, Martinez’s actions, as observed in the video, would reasonably be expected to cause a child of (his) age to experience fear, emotional distress, or mental suffering,” the report said.
Justice of the Peace Barbara Schifalacqua set Martinez-Ebner’s bail at $5,000 on Thursday, online court records show. Martinez-Ebner also was ordered to have no contact with the alleged victim.
Contact Spencer Levering at slevering@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0253.
