Five N.J. School Employees Fired After Non-Verbal Girl With Autism, 8, Was Bound With Tape Over Her Mouth in Classroom

Five New Jersey school employees were terminated after an 8-year-old student with autism was tied up with tape in a classroom.

Kasi Spinelli, the mother of the girl, told News 12 New Jersey that her daughter was restrained with tape at Brackman Middle School in Barnegat, N.J., where she is part of a specialized program.

“A resource officer from the school called me and said my daughter’s wrists were bound together by tape,” Spinelli told the outlet. “Another half hour went by, and the resource officer called me back and said it was also on her mouth.”

Spinelli further said she was shown photos of her daughter, who is non-verbal, bound with tape wearing different outfits, which she said suggested that it had happened on more than one day.

Barnegat’s school superintendent Brian Latwis told PEOPLE that the Board of Education upheld a recommendation to terminate one teacher and four paraprofessionals, none of whom were named, as a result of the incident.

News 12 reported that Barnegat police investigated the matter and found that no crime was committed. But the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office tells PEOPLE that an “investigation into this incident is currently active and ongoing.”

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In a YouTube video posted by Spinelli’s lawyers, the mother described her daughter’s experience, stating that the girl was bound with painters tape.

“She can’t come home and tell me how her day is,” Spinelli said. “The most I can get out of her is a thumbs up or thumbs down.”

Because her daughter was not able to communicate what happened to her, Spinelli said she had to take the girl to the emergency room to be tested for signs of sexual abuse.

“I had to do my own investigation to figure out what happened.,” Spinelli said. “Because she can’t come forth and tell me.”