Wake Co. elementary teacher charged with felony assault on multiple students, all with a disability
WENDELL, N.C. (WTVD) -- A special education teacher in Wendell is facing multiple felony charges after being accused of assaulting several students with disabilities.
The Wake County Sheriff's Office said it began investigating after getting a report from the Wake County Public School System (WCPSS) accusing a teacher at Carver Elementary School of assaulting multiple students.
After an investigation, the sheriff's office consulted with the district attorney's office and decided to charge the teacher.
The teacher, Scott Swartzfager, 47, was arrested Tuesday and charged with five counts of felony assault on an individual with disability and five counts of assault on a child younger than 12.
According to documents obtained by ABC11, Swartzfager is accused of assaulting at least five different children, all with disabilities. The alleged abuse took place last week and involved a 5-year-old, two children ages 7, an 8-year-old, and a 10-year-old.
"It's upsetting, and it's scary," Margaret Bilodeau, the parent of a Wake County special education student, told ABC11 on Tuesday evening.
Bilodeau said she was horrified to learn about the charges a special education teacher in her child's district is facing.
"A lot of these kids in the special education departments cannot advocate for themselves," she said. "And so, it's particularly disturbing when you hear something like that because you have no idea how long it's been going on and what happened ... so that's very troubling."
The principal of Carver Elementary sent a statement to parents after the arrest.
"We have learned that Special Education teacher Scott Swartzfager has been arrested and charged with abuse of a disabled child and assault on a child under the age of 12. The charged conduct is related to incidents that occurred on our campus with multiple students," Principal Wenitra Merritt wrote in part. "I want to assure you that we take the safety of our students and staff members very seriously. While privacy laws prevent me from providing much additional information about the situation, I can share that Mr. Swartzfager is suspended while the district conducts an investigation."
ABC11 learned Tuesday that it's the second such recent incident at Carver Elementary. In 2024, another special education teacher at the school was also arrested for harming a student.
Lori Miller Holland, 55, was arrested in February 2024 after investigators said they believe she struck a child with a disability and dragged the child down a hallway at school. She ultimately pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge of assault on an individual with a disability earlier this year and was sentenced to 10 days in jail, 15 hours of community service, completion of the SAFEchild program, and probation.
Bilodeau said she wasn't particularly surprised about either incident, saying she doesn't believe there is enough funding or support for students with special needs in Wake County, especially to recruit and retain the best teachers.
"It's upsetting because he's they're just not getting their needs met and they're not safe," she said. "I mean, even if you want to say, OK, they're going to school, at least I can look at it like babysitting, but you can't because you don't even know that they're safe when you send them."
Swartzfager is being held on a $150,000 bond and is due in court Wednesday.
The sheriff's office said the case remains under investigation.
