7-Year-Old Boy Forced To Eat His Vomit At School Cafeteria; 5 Charged

A 7-year-old special education student has allegedly been forced to eat his own vomit with a spoon at an Indiana school cafeteria.

Four elementary school staff members and a behavioral technician are facing charges over the incident that occurred in February, the Brownsburg Police Department said in a statement shared on Facebook Wednesday.

The incident took place while the child was having lunch at Brown Elementary School in Brownsburg, about 20 miles northwest of Indianapolis, according to NBC News.

As per the police statement, the boy was captured on video sitting at a table inside the cafeteria and eating his meal. He stood up all of a sudden and appeared to gag on his food.

Sara Seymour, 27, a life skills teacher, asked the child to sit down and allegedly told him he would have to consume whatever food he threw up.

Another life skills teacher, Julie Taylor, 48, was also in the cafeteria and gave the boy a tray, police added.

The child eventually vomited on the tray and the table, USA Today reported.

Debra Kanipe, 63, a life skills instructional aid, allegedly gave the boy a spoon, which he used to eat his own puke.

The victim was "provided a spoon by Kanipe and was compelled to eat some of his vomit," Brownsburg police noted further. "The child is then required to clean up the remainder of the vomit with paper towels."

Brownsburg police also said two others, Kristen Mitchell, 38, and Megan King, 24, were present at the scene as witnesses.

The incident took place on Feb. 16, but it was only in April that the school staff found out about it. Brownsburg police were informed about the incident on April 12.

An earlier statement released on April 17 disclosed that Seymour and Kanipe were already in the process of being terminated while the other three were on administrative leave.

"As educators, protecting the safety and welfare of our students is at the core of who we are," Brownsburg Community School Corporation Superintendent Jim Snapp said, as per the statement. "We are deeply saddened by the actions of these staff members and will work in conjunction with our local law enforcement as they move forward with possible criminal charges."

The five adults involved in the incident were all charged with misdemeanor failure to report, Brownsburg police said in their statement.

Seymour and Kanipe were arrested Wednesday and faced an additional charge of felony neglect of a dependent. They were released from custody the same day.