Rocklin School District Sued After Special Ed Teacher Charged With Child Abuse

ROCKLIN (CBS13) — Six families are suing the Rocklin Unified School District after a special education teacher was charged with abusing students.

Parents say the abuse of their special needs children went on for months and even years. They claim in the lawsuit that some members of the school district knew about it and did nothing to stop it.

Sherry McDaniel was charged two weeks ago with 14 counts of misdemeanor child abuse by the Placer County District Attorney.

Six families filed a lawsuit seeking damages from the Rocklin school district on Thursday.

The suit describes verbal and physical abuse, accusing the special education teacher of punching and kicking her students, as well as putting students face down and sitting on them. The suit also claims McDaniel used bungee cords and painter's tape to hold kids' arms and legs to desks.

Parents say they had no idea until an anonymous tip started a police investigation. They claim district employees ignored complaints, allowing the alleged abuse to continue.

"I never expected in a million years my son would be abused by his teacher," said parent Jenn Hugunin. "I also expected the principal to protect my child and every child in that classroom."

Parents say their special needs children have enough trouble communicating as is, and fear the alleged abuse they suffered will affect them the rest of their lives.

McDaniel has been on unpaid leave since November, and a termination hearing is scheduled for May.

The district said in a statement it couldn't comment on the specifics of the lawsuit, but said its first priority is always on the safety of its students.