Former school employee pleads guilty to mistreatment of students
Posted/updated on: December 7, 2024 at 11:16 pm
LONGVIEW — A former Longview ISD employee has plead guilty to charges stemming from an investigation of abuse against special education students that occurred from August 2019 to October 2021. According to our news partner KETK, on Wednesday, 56-year-old Cynthia Talley pleaded guilty to unlawful restraint of a minor and three counts of injury to a child with intent to cause bodily injury. Talley is one of six women arrested in 2022 after Longview ISD officials reportedly saw video footage of J.L. Everhart Elementary employees and campus administration mistreating special education students.
Talley’s sentencing hearing will be held on Jan. 1, 2025. The other former LISD employees also charged for mistreatment of students are Paula Hawkins Dixon, Cassandra Renee James, Linda Kaye Brown Lister, Priscilla Johnson and Cecilia Gregg.
Gregg, Dixon and Talley were “released from employment” from the district in October 2021 “immediately upon the district’s discovery of their alleged actions,” according to a statement from the district. James and Lister were both working as administrators at the time, and resigned in lieu of termination, the district said.
6th woman arrested in Longview ISD abuse investigation
Since then, Dixon and Gregg were sentenced to eight years after pleading guilty to their charges. James, Lister and Johnson’s trial dates have been moved to next year.
In September 2022, Longview ISD reached a $2.5 million settlement with 10 families of students abused at the school. The district said the settlement was funded equally by them and the East Texas Advanced Academies, with the district’s insurance carrier, the Texas Association of School Boards Risk Management Fund also contributing to the settlement amount.
“Many of the children were among the most vulnerable of our society, diagnosed as autistic nonverbal, and the only way we know the abuse occurred is because it was caught on camera,” according to a release from two East Texas attorneys representing the families.
