School director, 3 employees accused of running 'makeshift child fight club' in Arkansas
School director, 3 employees accused of running 'makeshift child fight club' in Arkansas An attorney for one of the charged employees said the accusations against his client and the school's director 'has been blown out of proportion.'
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An Arkansas school owner and director, along with three of her employees, were arrested after being accused of orchestrating a fight club among students.
One of the individuals charged, Mary Tracy Morrison, 50, founded a school called the Delta Institute for the Developing Brain, located in Jonesboro, about 143 miles northeast of Little Rock, per court documents obtained by USA TODAY.
Morrison also runs a program called the Engage Center for Enriched Learning, which claims to help students age 4 and up improve their executive functioning, academic and social skills. She is facing 11 felony counts of permitting child abuse, 18 misdemeanor counts of contributing to the delinquency of a juvenile, as well as failure to notify by a mandated reporter.
Her employees, Katherine Lipscomb, 45; Michael Bean, 39; and Kristen Bell, 36, were charged with felony permitting child abuse and misdemeanor failure to notify by a mandated reporter, per the documents.
On April 21, Morrison was released on a $250,000 bond, Lipscomb was released on a $100,000 bond, and Bean and Bell were both released on $10,000 bonds, according to the court documents. All four of them are barred from having contact with the school or the students, reported KAIT.
Attorney for employee says accusations are 'blown out of proportion'
Randel Miller, who is representing Lipscomb, told USA TODAY on April 30 that his client is a teacher at the school and the situation "has really been blown out of proportion." The attorney added that Morrison, who runs the school, was trying to let the children hash out their problems.
The school is "very specialized," and Morrison's team takes different approaches that other schools wouldn't need to take, Miller said.
"I'm not going to say something didn't get out of hand, but they were attempting to work through issues that these kids were having with each other," he added.
USA TODAY contacted the Delta Institute For The Developing Brain and attorneys for Morrison and her other employees on April 30, but has not received a response.
School founder allegedly told children they could punch victim sitting in circle
In the court documents, the Craighead County Sheriff's Office detailed events leading up to charges against Morrison and her three employees.
Authorities initially found out about the alleged crimes on April 17, when a parent reported the school for child abuse, per court documents.
The parent alleged that her child, on April 16, while at Engage school, was forced to sit in the center of a circle, surrounded by Morrison and other students.
In a video taken that day, Morrison could be seen 'putting her hands on the juvenile numerous times and she also told other juvenile children that they could punch the juvenile victim sitting in the middle of the circle,' court documents read.
Morrison also previously allowed other children to choke and punch the victim on other occasions, court documents read.
According to the documents, investigators secured a search warrant for footage from inside the school and saw Morrison encourage other students to mentally and physically abuse a child at the school.
How were the employees allegedly involved in the fight club?
At one point during the incident, which lasted about 30 minutes, the victim was surrounded by 18 students and Morrison, who hit the child with an object.
'Dr. Morrison verbally berated the child the whole time as she watched many of the other students sitting around the circle punch, kick, and choke the juvenile victim sitting inside the circle,' the court documents read.
Investigators added in the documents that Morrison gave one student a high five after they choked the victim.
While this went on, Lipscomb was sitting at her desk and did not intervene, investigators wrote in the documents. Bean was also in the footage, and could be seen entering and watching as the victim was being attacked, court documents show. Bell is seen in the footage walking through the classroom as well, court documents show.
During the attack, Morrison asked some of the students if they had anything to say about the child's appearance and what they didn't like about it. Morrison allegedly hit the victim with an object and told the victim to look at the student who was listing things they didn't like about the victim's appearance.
Morrison also told a student they could hit the child 'in the private area if they want to,' per the documents. When one student hit the victim, Morrison asked the student if the victim had ever made fun of them, court documents show, adding that the student then choked the victim.
Morrison later made the victim apologize to the other students and told them that they should not talk about what happened that day.
According to investigators, a school employee found out about the allegations the day of the incident and told multiple teachers not to cooperate with authorities or the Department of Children and Family Services.
Another employee at the school told investigators that among the four employees who were in the room that day, none of them reported it to the child abuse hotline despite being mandated reporters, per court documents.
Prosecutor: Morrison was 'ringleader of this makeshift child fight club'
Last year, Morrison spoke to KAIT about the Engage program and what it would offer. The program would allow children with autism to continue learning there, even after they turn 18, she said.
'To live in those apartments, they manage their bills,' Morrison told the TV station. 'They'll do their own meals, cleaning, and transportation.'
At the time, Morrison said the Engage program had 120 learners.
Regarding the charges Morrison is facing now, Prosecuting Attorney Sonia Hagood said on April 21 that Morrison orchestrated the abuse.
Morrison was 'the ringleader of this makeshift child fight club,' Hagood alleged, per KAIT. 'She was the ringleader of this particular incident.'
Saleen Martin is a reporter on USA TODAY's NOW team. She is from Norfolk, Virginia – the 757. Email her at sdmartin@usatoday.com.
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