Children allegedly taped to desks

About seven Santa Fe sixth-grade students were allegedly duct-taped to their desks by a UNM teaching intern sometime last week.

Rudy Martin, an attorney who spoke with one of the parents, said he is not sure of any of the specific details regarding the incident. He said he was told that several students were duct-taped to their desks at Chaparral Elementary on the second-to-last day of school by a teaching intern from UNM while a certified teacher was present.

"My understanding is that some of these kids became very frightened," Martin said.

Martin said one or more of the children left the classroom and reported the incident to the principal. He said the Santa Fe Police Department instructed those involved to not discuss anything with the public until later this week.

Deputy Chief Eric Johnson said the investigation is still open, and would not release details. He said there is no time frame for when the incident occurred.

Martin said he thinks the case is being treated as a criminal investigation, and may result in charges of child battery or child abuse. Since no charges have been filed, the name of the intern has not been released.

UNM Spokesman Greg Johnston said the intern has been kicked out of the program he or she was enrolled in at the College of Education.

Breda Bova, associate dean of the UNM College of Education, said the intern should have known better, because all interns receive training in classroom management and are supervised in the classroom by certified teachers.

Martin was not sure why the incident occurred.

"I can only speculate, I really don't know," he said. "I think this person just flipped. It really should never have happened."

Bova said she was meeting with members of the College of Education Wednesday night to discuss the matter.