Springfield, MO — A second civil lawsuit has been filed against an employee of Ozark Horizon State School, the school itself, as well as the Missouri Board of Education, the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, the Missouri Schools for the Severely Disabled and the School’s Building Administrator/ Area Director. The suit was filed in the Western District of Missouri, Southern Division, in Springfield, Missouri. The Plaintiffs are represented by Dayrell Scrivner of Scrivner Law Firm, LLC, located in Branson, Missouri.
Christy Rinear, an employee of the Ozark Horizon State School located in West Plains, Missouri, was indicted by a Grand Jury on February 8, 2023, with felony charges of Child Abuse and Child Endangerment. The civil lawsuit contains allegations that Rinear physically assaulted the autistic, nonverbal nine-year-old child while grabbing him by his arms and slamming him against the wall. The lawsuit alleges additional incidents of Rinear forcibly grabbing the minor child, threatening to strike the minor child, and forcing food into the minor child’s mouth when he would not eat during mealtime.
This is the second Federal lawsuit against Ozark Horizon State School and employees filed by Scrivner Law Firm, LLC. On August 10, 2022, six employees of the Ozark Horizon State School were charged with felonies ranging from Child Abuse to Child Endangerment in connection with a separate autistic, nonverbal minor child. The resulting civil lawsuit initially filed in Howell County, Missouri was transferred to the Western District of Missouri, Southern Division, in Springfield, Missouri due to the claimed violations of Federal Civil Rights violations.
“Once again, our community faces chilling allegations that our public schools have allowed another innocent young child to be victimized by those put in charge of their care, safety, and education.” said Scrivner in a public statement, “This must stop!”
Both lawsuits state that all the Defendants were responsible for the education, safety, and civil rights protection of their disabled students, especially given these minor children suffer from severe autism and were unable to protect themselves or communicate the abuse to their parents.
