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A former Michigan teacher’s aide is now facing charges of child abuse following an incident that allegedly took place late last year. The accusation involves a 13-year-old special needs student who was reportedly thrown against a window by the aide.
The unsettling event occurred at The Learning Center, an institution dedicated to children with moderate to severe impairments, located near Escanaba. The student, who is predominantly non-verbal and is said to have the cognitive abilities of a 5-year-old, was displaying disruptive behavior in the classroom, according to an incident report. This information was brought to light by WBUP.
Another aide present during the incident remarked that while some form of intervention might have been necessary, the student’s actions did not justify the response that followed. At the time of the incident, the teacher was not in the classroom, and the student began standing and sitting repeatedly, a common behavior for him. He then started making pinching gestures towards the aide, identified as 54-year-old Robin Popour.
The situation escalated when Popour allegedly warned the student, saying, “If you pinch me, I will slap your hand.” Despite the warning, the student continued to pinch, even managing to pinch Popour’s hands a few times. In response, Popour reportedly moved very close to the student’s face and yelled at him to remain seated.
“Robin then told him, if you pinch me I will slap your hand,” the aide said. “He then continued to pinch at her and actually pinched her hands a couple of times. Then Robin got inches from his face and screamed at him to stay seated.
“[The student] then stood up and made pinching motions towards Robin’s hands. Robin then grabbed [The student] by his shoulders and slammed him into the window. [He] froze briefly then grabbed onto Robin’s arms and was digging his nails into her arms.”
The teacher returned to the classroom and intervened. As they all left the classroom, one aide said, Popour said, “I don’t give a f*** if I left marks on him.” Another aide quoted her saying, “I don’t care if I got him. He deserved it.”
The other three aides filed reports the next day, and administrators contacted the Delta County Sheriff’s Office. Deputies began investigating and contacted teh student’s parents. Popour was fired.
According to the incident reports, Popour had made concerning statements about that student in the past.
“Robin has said many times throughout the year, she does not like him, has no use for him, and if he ever touches her she will lose her job and hit him back,” said one aide.
“Robin talks openly in the classroom about the things she would do, if [the child] hurt her… it felt to me that Robin was almost looking for something like this to happen,” another said.
Popour, a US citizen, has been charged with third degree child abuse.