Criminal case dismissed for former Mexico teacher accused of child abuse
MEXICO, Mo. (KMIZ)
A criminal case -- that accused a former Mexico, Missouri, elementary school teacher of child abuse -- was dismissed on Thursday, according to Audrain County Prosecutor Jacob Shellabarger.
Katrina Dukes was charged with child abuse and first-degree endangering the welfare of a child.
“Our office did not believe we could prove the elements of the crime beyond a reasonable doubt,” Shellabarger said in an email. “Between our evidence, the defense’s evidence, and Missouri law, including school discipline law, as applied to all of it, we could not make the case and prove it.”
Dukes was fired and charged after she was accused of abusing a second-grade, special-needs student in April 2022 at Eugene Field Elementary. Dukes sued to get her job back, but lost her case against the Mexico Board of Education in March 2023.
Court documents in 2022 said surveillance footage showed Dukes charge at a second-grade student, who has the mental function of a 5-year-old, and hit the student twice with a bag of dodgeballs. The student was lying on the floor at the time, court documents say.
"Understandably, members of our community are upset with this result. My office must always act in line with Missouri law, as well as the facts and evidence in each case – and we must follow the required jury instructions provided by the Missouri Supreme Court," Shellabarger said in a statement. "RSMO 160.261 and 563.061 provide that reasonable use of force to maintain school discipline and/or protect persons or property is allowed."
Shellabarger called this a "special negative defense" in his statement and said these laws require the State to prove the alleged abuse was not valid beyond a reasonable doubt.
According to previous reporting, court documents claimed the video also showed Dukes force the student into the hallway and "dump" them on the floor. The school claimed there were no adults who saw everything unfold and that it occurred in front of a second-grade class, previous reporting says. The school, in court documents, said Dukes could not recall what happened the day after the incident.
The victim showed a student resource officer a bruise on his leg, according to previous reporting.
