West Plains, MO. – A teacher at the Ozark Horizon State School has been charged following reports of abuse of a student. Christy Rinear, who was employed as a Special Education Teacher for the school, has been charged with Abuse or Neglect of a Child and Endangering the Welfare of a Child – 1st Offense for actions said to have occurred on October 14, 2022.
According to the probable cause statement, an aide witnessed Rinear grab a non-verbal student by the arms and slam the child against the wall, causing the child to hit their head. The child then slumped to the ground and started making whining noises. The aide promptly reported the incident to the building administrator and the Missouri Child Abuse & Neglect hotline. A student in the classroom corroborated the story. Another aide found bruises on the child’s arm and reported them to the administrator as well.
Video evidence caught the incident and was turned over to investigators. A summons has been issued for Rinear with a court date of Monday, March 13, 2023 before Judge Steven Privette at the Howell County Courthouse.
This makes the 8th employee to be charged with child abuse that worked at the Ozark Horizon State School in under a year. The other seven were charged from a separate incident in May of 2022 and six of them will go for a plea/trial setting on Friday, February 17, 2023.
