Ex-Killeen ISD Teacher Arrested For Reported Assault of Special N

A witness allegedly saw a disabled student being abused by a teacher at a Killeen middle school.

According to a report from the Killeen Daily Herald, Michael Joseph Duvall, 31, formerly worked as a middle school teacher at Palo Alto Middle School in Killeen and was arrested on Tuesday by U.S. Marshals and charged with injury to a disabled person with intentional bodily injury.

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Police reported that the student, age 14, is epileptic, autistic, and cannot speak. Thankfully a witness came forward to officials and according to an arrest affidavit stated:

"She had observed Duvall strike (the victim) on multiple occasions on his head and body. The witness had also observed Duvall pinch the victim on pressure points on his body to the point where the victim would cry out and start to bang his head against the desk.”

The witness also told police that Duval would, “require the victim to stand facing the board without support for hours.”

Another report from Fox44 offers further details including the fact that the victim, "wears a helmet to protect his brain and that the suspect was aware of the victim’s condition and disabilities."

The complaint was was made to police on Dec. 2, 2020, and the arrest affidavit states that on November 19, 2020 the witness was able to capture video of Duvall striking the student.

Killeen ISD issued the following statement regarding the incident:

“Killeen ISD immediately investigated and took appropriate personnel action upon learning of the allegations against Mr. Duvall. The district notified Child Protective Services, law enforcement, and the Texas Education Agency/State Board of Education Certification of the allegations. We will continue to work with local authorities to protect the safety of our students. Mr. Duvall worked at Palo Alto Middle School as a teacher and was promptly removed from the campus on December 3, 2020. Mr. Duvall is prohibited from entering all KISD properties.”

I'm not a parent, but all this negative news about Killeen ISD certainly wouldn't encourage me to trust the district with children's safety or education.