By JOE MAY | The Southern Standard
After a year of attempting to get justice for their autistic son whom they claim was abused by a now former Centerpoint Elementary School employee in 2024, an Amity couple is going public with their complaints against the school district as well as the office of Prosecuting Attorney Jana Bradford.
Justin and Krystina Bean of Amity are the parents of 8-year-old Greyson Bean, who is autistic and non-verbal. For the past year, Justin told The Standard that the couple has been attempting to resolve allegations of abuse at the hands of their son’s former teacher/aide and insure that proper protocols are followed in dealing with an employee who is alleged to have witnessed the abuse but apparently took no action. An attorney retained by the couple is still involved in the situation, but after a year of talking to officials all over the state, the Beans are concerned that other students could also be in danger.
A few weeks ago, the Beans took their case to the public via social media and since that time, the situation has been shared throughout the state and at least one online news outlet has picked up on the story. After the story broke, the Beans have been contacted by various authorities who have expressed concerns about the handling of the matter.
Bean provided the newspaper with a statement written to the State Board of Education, which he said reached out to him last week for information.
“For months, my wife and I felt like something wasn’t right with our child. Greyson developed poor sleeping and eating habits, as well as being more aggressive when getting home from school. Greyson began to cry every day when going to school, as well as upon picking him up. Day after day, the school would send home nothing but negative reports about … his behavior, … saying that he hit, bit, slapped, etc. … As time went by, I … went to the doctor, expressing concerns about Greyson’s sleeping patterns. … My wife had reached out to the school regarding concerns about one of his aides in February, with no response,” Bean said in his statement.
Finally, on March 28, 2024 Justin Bean said he received a phone call from School Principal Erika Doster, who told him there had been an incident in which Greyson had gotten agitated to the point where the teacher allegedly became upset as well and acted inappropriately.
Justin Bean said he then asked for a meeting with the principal the next day.
“I have audio recordings from the meeting the next day … in which Mrs. Doster said, ‘It was more forceful than I am comfortable with, but nothing I would consider abuse,’” Bean wrote.
Asked if the principal had filed a child abuse report with the Department of Human Services as required by law, Bean said he was told that one had been filed, but that it had not been accepted. However, he quoted Doster as saying the employee was no longer working for the school district. Bean filed his own DHS report, which he said was accepted for invstigation.
The following Monday, the Beans were allowed to see security footage of the incident in which the aide, who was wearing arm guards, appears to suddenly grab Greyson and struggle with him for a moment as he resisted.
“I was absolutely disgusted at what I saw,” Bean said, adding that his wife took a cell phone video of the footage, which he said Superintendent Jody Cowart would not provide a copy of, citing possible future litigation.
“I then requested a larger investigation be conducted of previous footage, to see if there were other instances, as it seems to usually be a repetitive behavioral pattern in abuse. [The] superintendent assured me that even though he was not legally obligated to do so, he would keep me informed. That did not happen,” Bean wrote.
Continuing, Bean said, “I filed my police report … with the school resource officer, who also works for Pike County. The officer said, ‘I was unaware that this happened on my watch.’ When the … officer went to view the footage, he was told by … Cowart he would need a subpoena, as he was now there as a deputy.”
In his complaint to the state board, Bean noted that an SRO is allowed to view footage of students vaping. When he asked Cowart about the issue, he claimed the superintendent would not discuss the matter.
Bean described his subsequent dealings with Jana Bradford’s office as being “rude, as well as not informative at all throughout the entire process thus far.”
Bean also wrote that when Bradford would allegedly not provide him with the number of her investigator, David Shelton, he was able to obtain it by visiting Deputy Prosecutor Dustin Bissell. While at his office, Bean reported being shocked when Bissell’s officemate — who does not work for the prosecutor — told him she had seen the full video, “which I to this day have not been allowed to view. She told me what she couldn’t believe was the other [employee] just sitting there, not stopping it or stepping in. Upon my own investigation, I found out that [the other employee] did not even file a DHS report.”
In speaking with Shelton, he said the investigator’s first words to him were to ask “‘Are you recording me? It is legal, but it won’t set well with me if you are.’” He added that Shelton told him the other employee would not be charged for failure to report the alleged abuse.
“I found [it] concerning an individual that witnessed such an event is still employed at the school and working with disabled and vulnerable children.”
In a subsequent conversation Bean said Shelton “started talking about his disagreement with DHS finding truth in the abuse and did not like the way I reported the incident, which I have confirmed with DCFS [that they found it] to be accurate and true.”
Asked if he had spoken with the alleged suspect in the case, Bean said Shelton explained he did not have to as the school had given him an incident report detailing the matter.
Bean quoted the investigator as saying that the employee had been asked to “take time to consider resigning.” When Krystina Bean spoke up at this point, Justin Bean said that Shelton twice told her to “shut up” and then hung up and refused to answer further calls from the couple.
“I have witnesses that can confirm his unprofessionalism, as well as audio and video recordings, as to how two parents with a disabled son … have been treated, since finding out this sickening news back in March [2024].”
After the allegations came to light, Justin Bean said he and his wife pulled Greyson from Centerpoint and placed him in a neighboring district after school officials allegedly did not do anything about the employee who witnessed the alleged abuse.
In his complaint to the state board, Bean also stated, “I feel like this is a broader situation than meets the eye as another parent has pulled their child since we did [due to] unexplained bruising as well. I am pleading my case to you to take a broad look at what used to be such a proud community and county, in which seems to be run down by the prosecuting attorney, whose husband also happens to be the president of the school board. Please help me in looking after the safety and well-being of these students, as well as finding justice for our son Greyson.”
Adding that he has audio and video recordings to share with interested authorities, Bean wrote, “we would be happy to speak with someone about the hell we have been through in the past year. I tried the legal route and even my attorney, Chris Turnage, has been unable to obtain the video. We are left with so many unanswered questions and concerns, as we were only shown a clip, which never showed a clear ending. Did it get worse? We need answers and the DCFS found truth on three counts on the offender and Prosecuting Attorney Jana Bradford still chooses not to prosecute.
A letter sent to the school by Turnage was provided to the newspaper by Bean. In the letter, dated Oct. 30, 2024, the attorney refers to the video footage as “shocking” and states that DHS conducted an investigation and found the allegations to be true.
“I understand that the main offender was not actually fired, but allowed to resign and the other employee was not reprimanded at all. … Based on what our clients have told us, it appears there has been a cover-up and refusal to show the parents the unredacted video (despite the fact that numerous community members have seen it). This abuse has caused issues and setbacks for Greyson, which classifies as damage,” Turnage wrote. The letter then requests that the district preserve all evidence in the case and asks to be contacted by the school’s legal counsel to discuss a “potential litigation/settlement.”
Authorities respond toallegations
Cowart, reached for comment by the newspaper, stated he was unable to speak about the matter, citing the ongoing investigation into the allegations.
Pike County Sheriff Travis Hill told the newspaper that, unlike in most child abuse situations, his office did not conduct an investigation into the matter other than SRO David Walker taking a report from Cowart.
Hill said DHS forwarded their report to the prosector and since Bradford’s office had its own investigator, Shelton had largely handled the case along with DHS officials.
“I do know a call was made to the Child Abuse hotline,” he commented. “I really don’t know why the SRO wasn’t made a part of the investigation.
“I do know that I was told the full video seems to explain the situation a little more,” Hill said, adding that he has not seen the footage himself. He also said he was unsure if the case was still an active investigation.
Hill said the employee who allegedly manhandled Greyson realized her mistake immediately and self-reported to Cowart and resigned, at which time the incident was reported to DHS.
Calls made to Bradford and Bissell were not returned.
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