Disabled Girl’s Computer Is Stolen From School

A personal computer used by a severely handicapped 8-year-old girl to do her school lessons was stolen from an elementary school in Rolling Hills Estates over the weekend, authorities reported Thursday.

“It angers me. . . . How do you tell a little 8-year-old girl that there are criminals out there, and they don’t care about anybody or anything?” said Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Detective Marty Weirich.

The computer, valued at about $6,500, was owned by the parents of the girl, Stephanie Stratford, according to school officials. It was discovered missing early Monday morning by a janitor reporting for work at Rancho Vista Elementary School.

The officials said the burglar gained entry into the classroom by cutting a hole in a window, reaching in and unlatching a door. The intruder then broke into a locked cabinet where the computer was stored, leaving behind a less-expensive classroom computer that was not locked up.

A special mouthpiece that allowed Stephanie to do her class work on the computer was not stolen.

Stephanie, a second-grader who has been attending the school since kindergarten, was born with a tumor on her spinal cord and is largely paralyzed from the neck down.

She was admitted to Rancho Vista after her parents successfully challenged a 1987 decision by Palos Verdes Peninsula Unified School District officials to put her in a special school with other handicapped children.

At the time of the 1988 settlement of the case, the girl’s mother, Nancy Stratford, declared victory over the school district, saying, “We wanted Stephanie to attend a regular school.”

Principal Jan Knickerbocker said the school district recently obtained money for the school to buy its own computer for Stephanie. She said purchase of the computer will now be speeded up.

Until the new computer arrives, Stephanie will do her classwork with the help of the personal aide who regularly assists her at school, the principal said.