NH special ed teacher placed on leave amid abuse allegations

MANCHESTER, N.H. (MyFoxBoston.com) -- An N.H. special education teacher is listed as a defendant in a civil lawsuit that accuses her of abusing students; she has also been placed on administrative leave by the Manchester school district.

Two families allege that Ashlee Crouthamel verbally and physically abused special-needs children while working at a nonprofit school in Greenfield run by the Crotched Mountain Foundation, according to the Union Leader. Police investigated the allegations, but Crouthamel was not charged. The Manchester school district hired her for a teaching position at the Parkside Middle School before the civil lawsuit was filed in October, but once they learned of the suit Crouthamel was placed on leave.

The 28-year-old's attorney told the Union Leader that she denies the allegations and believes she will be exonerated. He also said that the Manchester school district put her on leave, despite the fact that she wasn't charged, because they want to investigate the claims on their own.

Parents involved in the lawsuit reportedly said that their son, who has trouble speaking, was pinched on the nose hard enough to leave a bruise. The boy's mother also saw her son's penis swollen several times and when asked why, the boy said it had been squeezed by a classroom aide, according to the lawsuit.

After an investigation, three classroom aides are facing several charges, but none were sexual in nature. One pleaded guilty to a violation of privacy while the other two have open cases with charges including assault.

Even though Crouthamel wasn't charged, the families involved in the lawsuit maintain that she was responsible for the abuse happening in the classroom.

Cox Media Group