A former Grant County special education teacher is set to stand trial for criminal abuse on December 8, following accusations that she twisted the ears of an elementary student in order to get him to do his work.
According to court records, multiple teachers witnessed Abigail Schlagel twisting the child’s ears while working with him.
Grant County Superintendent Matt Morgan stated, “Ms. Schlagel has not worked for the district since December 5, 2022. The district is refraining from making any comments in light of the upcoming criminal trial and unemployment appeal.”
Schlagel was indicted by a Grant County grand jury on July 12, 2023, for one count of third degree criminal abuse, listed as a Class A misdemeanor in court records.
A teacher at Sherman Elementary reported an incident on December 1, 2022, in which she witnessed Schlagel twisting the child’s ear until he cried out, “my ear, my ear.”
Court records revealed that the child had a history of ear surgeries and infections before the incident.
The criminal file contained images of the child’s bright red ears, as well as notes from the investigator, in which Schlagel admitted to pulling the child’s ears a few times when he refused to do his work. She acknowledged that her actions were “abusive,” and stated that she would reduce the twisting only when the child began to cry, before asking him to work again, as shown in the documents.
According to the documents, Schlagel claimed that she had not pulled the ears of any other children.
A defense attorney listed in court documents was not immediately available for comment.
