Mother alleges abuse on daughter with autism

A Heber mother said her 17-year-old daughter with special needs was abused by someone in school. And she complained that the school is not doing enough to find out who’s responsible.
Elizabeth Jimenez showed us pictures of the alleged abuse. They showed severe bruising on the upper inner part of her daughter’s left leg.

“it’s heartbreaking to see that you want, you just want help, you want to know, you want it to stop, and they show no interest in knowing what’s going on,” Jimenez said.
Her autistic daughter started coming home bruised in March. This lasted over three months. “They were on the inside of her thigh and they were very dark and they looked as if someone was pinching her or grabbing a hold of her inner thigh,” Jimenez said.
She reported this situation to school and to the Sheriff’s Office. She began documenting the bruising.
“I started taking pictures and I started asking the school staff. She had like three or four bruises on top of each other. They were the biggest bruises that I’ve ever seen. They were purple and green and black ,” Jimenez said. Todd Evangelist, Communication Director for Imperial County Office of Education, said they are doing all they can to protect students. “Whenever there’s a concern or complaint that’s issued regarding one of our students we take it extremely seriously. That’s why law enforcement was involved and it’s been an ongoing investigation up to the end of this point,” Evangelist said.

He said they are closely monitoring the ongoing investigation of the incident and will take necessary actions depending on the outcome. Jimenez said she won’t stop demanding justice for her daughter. “Anyone would go and be doing the same thing, wanting to know some answers, where and why this is happening,” Jimenez said.

Jimenez encourages other parents to come forward if they suspect their kids are suffering any type of abuse in school, especially if they happen to have special needs.