‘Not Thinking at the Time’: Former Ohio Teacher Makes Tearful Plea In Court After Filming Herself Laughing and Taunting Special Needs Student Duct-Taped to Chair

A former Ohio teacher was found guilty on multiple charges connected to an incident in which she filmed a special-needs student being duct-taped to a chair, then began laughing at him. Rachel Smith, 27, and her former co-worker Allison Vestring were charged with unlawful restraint after Smith filmed Vestring wrapping duct tape around a 15-year-old child with Down syndrome and autism at West Clermont High School, prosecutors state. Rachel Smith, 27, was found guilty of charges in connection to an incident at an Ohio high school where she filmed a special-needs student being duct-taped to a chair, then laughed at him. (Photos: YouTube/Fox19) Authorities launched an investigation after a CPS worker at the school immediately reported both educators to the police following the incident in March, Fox19 reported. Two separate videos captured only parts of the incident, but investigators say the child, who has limited speaking and physical abilities, was held in the chair for two to five minutes. In one video, Vestring is seen taping the boy to the chair and Smith is heard asking him to “stand up” once he can’t move, spurring laughter from classmates. “OK, try and get up,” Smith says to the teen in the...