CHARGES BROUGHT AGAINST SCHOOL STAFF FOR FAILURE TO REPORT SUSPECTED CHILD ABUST

ST. JOSEPH – Court news last week in Berrien County Trial Court included the arraignment of four River Valley educators in St. Joseph for failing to report suspected child abuse.
The educators were charged with misdemeanor counts of failing to report the abuse of a 12 year old boy in Galien Township last year. The charge carries a maximum penalty of 93 days in jail, a fine of up to $500 or both.
The boy’s father and stepmother, Aaron and Alicia Zemke, have already been sentenced in connection with the abuse. They were sentenced in March to prison terms of 20 to 80 years in prison for first-degree child abuse.
The abuse against the boy occurred between January 2014 and August 2016 when the boy ran away from the Zemke home in Galien Township and was found asleep along railroad tracks. The boy was 11 and 12 at the time of the abuse.
A doctor who examined the boy last August reported that he weighed just 47 pounds, well below the average for boys his age, and was was bruised, dehydrated and exceptionally skinny. Further, the physician found a cut lip, old cigarette burns and each rib was observable and well defined.
The child told police last August that his father and step-mother kept him from eating. He ran away because he “was tired being treated like a dog and he didn’t think he would reach his 13th birthday.” The physician confirmed that his condition was serious and life threatening.
Last week, the Berrien County Prosecutor’s Office brought misdemeanor charges against four River Valley educators. Through the course of the investigation and court process, it was discovered the boy’s condition was noticed by school personnel at Three Oaks Elementary School as much as two years prior to his running away in August of 2016.
As noted by the prosecutor’s office, the Michigan Child Protection Law requires certain individuals including educators, doctors, nurses and social workers to report information to the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services if they suspect child abuse or neglect.
Those charged were Heidi Clark, of Three Oaks, Three Oaks Elementary School principal; Matt Cook, of St. Joseph, Three Oaks Elementary School guidance counselor; Diane Balling, of Michigan City, Indiana, Three Oaks Elementary School special education teacher; and Sherrie Bender, of Sawyer, Three Oaks Elementary School teacher.
Each is charged with two counts of failing to report suspected child abuse or neglect with one count for a time period during 2015 and the other count for a period during 2016. The allegation is that all of them had information about the boy’s situation during both time periods and did not make any report to authorities.
The four will be in court for pre-trial conferences during the week of June 5 in St. Joseph.