Raleigh County elementary teacher, aide fired; charged with child abuse

Oct. 13—A Raleigh County Schools teacher with a pending child abuse charge related to an incident in April 2023 in an elementary special education classroom has been fired.

A special needs aide in her classroom was also fired following charges that she, too, abused the same child.

During a special board meeting Friday, the Raleigh County Board of Education approved the suspension and termination of Wanelle Ortiz, 51, a special education teacher at Ridgeview Elementary School.

Although board members and county school administrators could not comment on the reason for Ortiz's firing, the teacher is facing criminal charges related to an incident that occurred during the 2022-23 school year.

According to the criminal complaint filed in Raleigh County Magistrate Court in June, Ortiz is charged with child abuse and conspiracy to commit a felony. She is accused of physically and mentally abusing a student in a special education classroom at Ridgeview Elementary on April 21.

Lisa Avis, 58, a special needs aide at Ridgeview Elementary, is facing the exact same charges for the incident.

The Raleigh School Board approved the suspension and termination of Avis during a special meeting on Sept. 29.

According to the narrative written by Raleigh County Sheriff Sgt. T.D. Pack, who filed with the complaint, the entire incident was captured by a camera in the classroom. Law enforcement was not made aware of the incident until the end of May, more than a month after it occurred.

After reviewing the footage, Pack wrote that the school employees "did not follow CPI (Child Prevention Institute) protocol with the minor child student and further escalated the situation with verbal taunts and physical suppression that was cruel and caused the child unnecessary pain."

In his report, Pack wrote that Avis can be seen in the video stepping on one of the child's "bare feet and holding his foot down."

"(The child) is clearly in pain and really becomes upset," the report continues.

Ortiz and Avis then pin the child between two chairs while the child is on the floor.

"The chairs appeared very tight against his chest and back like a vise, obviously causing (the child) pain," the report reads.

The child then slaps Ortiz on the left leg, to which Ortiz responds by slapping the child on his back "due to the way his body moves."

Later in the video, Avis sits on top of the child "with all her weight," which appears to pin the child's legs near his head.

Shortly after, Pack observed that Avis moved to position her entire body on top of the child, moving the child's feet even closer to his head.

After this maneuver, Pack wrote, the child's "screams completely changed as if he was seriously hurting and begging for (Avis) to please stop and let go."

While this is taking place, Ortiz can be seen in the footage at her desk and does not intervene but instead "cringes a little as the minor is sat on and has a smile on her face," the report states.

This is the third incident in as many years involving a special needs student in Raleigh County Schools, resulting in criminal charges for a teacher or aide.

In 2021, Wayne Olgesby, a long-term substitute at Park Middle School, was charged with child neglect for shoving a special needs child to the ground and then kicking him.

According to the complaint, the child suffered from numerous health/mental impairments, is deaf and blind and has a behavior disorder.

A year later, Samuel White, a teaching aide at Woodrow Wilson High School, was charged with child abuse resulting in injury as a result of an incident with the same student who was involved in the Park Middle incident.

In March 2023, the child's father, Wilbert Pugh, filed a complaint in Raleigh Circuit Court against White and the Raleigh County Board of Education, according to an article in West Virginia Record.

The complaint filed by the father states that during an incident on Dec. 16, 2022, at Woodrow Wilson, his child was repeatedly punched in the head and body by White, as well as choked and forcefully thrown to the ground.

The Raleigh School Board voted to fire White during a meeting in February.

Email: jmoore@register-herald.com