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DA To Probe Reports Of Abuse At McKeesport School

A 16-year-old student says a staff member at the Auberle Education Center beat her so badly that she thought she was going to die

(KDKA) PITTSBURGH On the heels of a KDKA Investigation, Allegheny County District Attorney Stephen Zappala is launching a criminal investigation into allegations of abuse at a local school for troubled students.

As KDKA Investigator Marty Griffin first reported, Akeena Sanders, 16, says a staff member at the Auberle Education Center in McKeesport beat her so badly that she thought she was going to die.

"He took me by my hoody and slapped me on my face – and then, like smashed my face into the ground, was choking me – had his knee in my back."
Photographs show the teenager's back and face covered in bruises and she even had a swollen ankle.

Afterwards, Sanders said she was told she had to finish the day at school and could not call her mother.

"I almost went into shock," Y'Daina Jett said about seeing her daughter's injuries. "I don't even think criminals need to be treated like the way she was treated. You wouldn't even treat an animal like this!""

After looking at photographs of Sander's injuries, Zappala told KDKA he's convinced that a criminal investigation is warranted.

The DA plans to assign Allegheny County police detectives to conduct the investigation to determine if the staff at Auberle committed any criminal acts.

Meanwhile, although school employees said they could not legally comment about the incident, they released a statement saying: "Unfortunately, at times, incidents occur when students attempt to assault a staff member or another student. At that time, it becomes a safety issue and highly trained officers must intervene."

Now it will be up to the DA's office to determine whether the staff went too far.

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