Teacher Guilty of Abusing 5 Disabled Students
A San Pedro special education teacher was convicted Wednesday of physically and mentally abusing five of her young disabled students by hitting and threatening to kill them.
A Municipal Court jury found Willenberg Special Education Center teacher Juanita Barnett, 59, of Los Angeles, guilty of five counts of willful cruelty toward a child. She was convicted of striking five children with her hands, a hairbrush and a jigsaw puzzle, and of threatening them with death or injury, said Deputy City Atty. Juana Webman.
Webman presented evidence that Barnett called the children “crippled,” told some she wished them dead, and threatened to beat one boy unconscious. None of the students, ages 9 to 12, were seriously injured from the abuse.
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