SHELTON, CT — A former Mohegan Elementary School music teacher accused of throwing books that hit two students in a class last year was recently charged by police and is scheduled to appear in court next week, according to court documents.
Laura Heckmann, 39, of New Fairfield, was arrested by Shelton police on Jan. 11. She is charged with disorderly conduct and two counts of risk of injury to a child, according to the state Judicial Branch.
According to an arrest warrant application obtained by Patch, the Shelton Police Department launched an investigation after a parent of a 9-year-old Mohegan School student reported the incident to police on March 28.
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The parent told an officer Heckmann threw a music book at the child in school earlier that day and the book struck the child in the face, according to police.
An officer also spoke with the child, who confirmed their parent’s account of the incident. The child also said Heckmann “was normally upset and yelling at the kids in the classroom” and had “yelled swear words at students,” according to police.
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The child noted being hit by the music book “hurt a little bit” but the child was not injured as a result of the incident. An officer confirmed the child had no visible injuries, according to police.
The child told police they also saw Heckmann throw a music book at another student in the class that day, according to police. The child said the book hit the second student in the chest, causing that student to cry, according to police.
Speaking to police through an interpreter, a parent of the second student said their child confirmed Heckmann threw a music book and hit them in the chest, documents state. The parent also noted the child was “okay, but very sad about the situation,” police said.
Another student in the class, who is a family member of the second child, also told their parent about the alleged book throwing incident and confirmed several details of the second child’s account, according to police.
Another parent who came to the police station and has three children enrolled at Mohegan School told police each of the three children reported separate incidents involving Heckmann. In one of those incidents, the parent accused Heckmann of grabbing one of the children by the wrist hard enough that it left a mark, according to police.
An officer later spoke with Shelton Public Schools Superintendent Kenneth Saranich and the school’s principal, John Coppola, about the reported incidents.
According to police, Saranich said district officials had received emails from parents stating they heard about the book throwing incidents, however no parents or students had come forward with further information.
Coppola told police that unrelated to the alleged book throwing incidents, the school had filed a report with that state Department of Children and Families earlier that month after receiving several complaints from parents accusing Heckmann of grabbing and forcefully moving students with her hands during music class time, police said.
Coppola said Heckmann was put on leave while they conducted their investigation, however DCF did not accept their report. Heckmann was then cleared to return to work, according to police.
Coppola said the school implemented a seating chart for students and advised Heckmann not to physically touch or move students around. He also checked with the school nurse and found no students went to her as a result of being injured by Heckmann, police said.
Multiple requests for comment from Shelton Public Schools Superintendent Kenneth Saranich and Shelton police were not returned Tuesday or Wednesday.
In May, police spoke with an attorney representing Heckmann, who told officers “his client denies the allegations of abusing her students and throwing music books at them,” according to police.
A request for comment from the attorney listed in the arrest warrant application was not immediately returned Wednesday.
Based on their investigation, police said in the application, many students reported they are “fearful of Heckmann while in class based on her actions.”
The New Haven Register reports Heckmann is no longer employed by the school district, and her name is not listed on the faculty and staff directory for Mohegan Elementary.
Following her arrest in January, Heckmann’s bond was set at $2,500. She is currently scheduled to appear in court March 5.
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