Kathie W. Is Connor’s mom. He is mostly nonverbal.
“Having a child that is not able to communicate their thoughts or feelings is terrifying,” she said. “We constantly question everything our children do and wonder how they will tell us something is wrong.”
She said within a couple months of James D. Reed III being Connor’s teacher at Creekside Elementary School in the Poway Unified School District (PUSD), she noticed sweeping changes in her son’s behavior.
For one thing, Connor didn’t want to ride the school bus anymore. For another: He started hitting and biting his teacher’s aides and lashing out at home.
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Kathie’s lawsuit against Reed and the district alleged that months of abuse brought this behavior on.
“Unbeknownst to Connor's family, Reed was terrorizing, bullying and assaulting Connor on a daily basis — and in front of district employees and school professionals,” trial attorney John Gomez said.
The lawsuit said witnesses saw Reed dragging Connor around the classroom and hitting him in the face on several occasions.
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The matter reached its breaking point this January, when, the lawsuit alleges, Reed forced Connor’s head to the ground and pushed his face into the asphalt at least three times as the boy yelled in pain: “After finally freeing himself, Connor rushed at Reed, who responded by pushing and poking at Connor's chest, taunting him with words like, ‘You want to go? Are you ready for this?’ ”
Again, Connor was 5.
Teachers and aides reported this to the principal, who placed Reed on administrative leave.
Brittanie Arnett, a spokeswoman for the district, said Reed was an education specialist at PUSD for about seven months.
“Toward the end of his brief tenure, concerns were raised by staff related to his interactions with a student…," Arnett emailed NBC 7. "Shortly after the investigations commenced, Mr. Reed submitted his resignation."
The resignation was submitted in February and, Arnett said, Reed has not worked for or been affiliated with the district since.
The lawsuit said Reed has a prior child-abuse conviction. According to San Diego Police report record, he was convicted of a misdemeanor charge of willful cruelty to a child. The conviction date and location was redacted.
“As a parent, you think it's common sense that you would keep people that have injured a child before away from our kids,” Kathie said. “It was the last thing we ever expected.”
Connor's parents have since removed him from Creekside and enrolled him in a new school.
The full statement PUSD sent to NBC 7 regarding the suit is below:
"Mr. Reed was hired as an educational specialist by the Poway Unified School District in August 2023 and submitted his resignation in February 2024. He has not been employed or affiliated with our school district since his resignation. Toward the end of his brief tenure, concerns were raised by staff related to his interactions with a student. When administration became aware of these concerns, an immediate investigation was initiated and the employee was placed on administrative leave. Local law officials also initiated an investigation. Shortly after the investigations commenced, Mr. Reed submitted his resignation."
Later on Monday, NBC 7 received the following statement regarding the alleged incident:
"In January, SDPD officers were called to Creekside Elementary School to investigate a report involving a teacher, James D. Reed III, who was alleged to have inflicted injuries on a 5-your-old student. Upon arrival, officers discovered that Mr. Reed was not present at the location. No arrest was made at that time.
"Following the report, the San Diego Police Department’s Child Abuse Unit took charge of the investigation. Child Abuse Detectives conducted a comprehensive investigation to gather all relevant facts and evidence. Upon completion of the investigation, the case was forwarded to the San Diego City Attorney’s Office for review."
The San Diego police are urging anyone with more information about the alleged attacks or any other similar incidents to call he SDPD Child Abuse Unit at (619) 531-2260. Tips can also be called in anonymously to Crime Stoppers at (888) 580-8477.
