KATY, Texas – A former Katy ISD teacher's aide is facing felony charges for allegedly assaulting a student with autism at James E. Taylor High School last month.
Crystal Sedlar, 47, has been charged by the Katy Police Department with injuring a disabled person after she initiated an altercation with an autistic student on Oct. 25 who was in a counseling session with one of the school's special education teachers, according to court documents. She is facing a third-degree felony charge.
The court records say Sedlar ordered the male student, "Get up right now," then grabbed his arms and attempted to pull him out of the chair. That triggered a fight between the two, the court documents said.
When another teacher and a teacher's aide tried to defuse the situation by walking the student out of the classroom, witnesses said Sedlar hit the student in the back of his head with her cellphone. Sedlar resigned her position.
"The Katy ISD Police and human resources department recently investigated an allegation involving a paraprofessional," Katy ISD said in a released statement. "The investigation commenced the same day the allegation was reported. While the individual resigned during that inquiry, the investigation led to a third-degree felony- injury to a child or disabled individual charge being recommended to, and accepted by, the District Attorney."