A 7th-grade teacher who attempted to suffocate a rabbit in front of his special education students has been charged with animal cruelty under California law.
Godwin Collins Onunwah, 47, asked pupils at Gage Middle School in Huntington Park, Calif., to bring animals to class for dissection last September, according to Madeline Bernstein, the president of the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty of Animals in Los Angeles, which conducted the initial investigation.
The teacher allegedly placed a live rabbit in a plastic bag, sealed it, and waited for the animal to die, she said. When the rabbit was still alive at the end of class, she said, Mr. Onunwah put it in a cupboard over the weekend.
Mr. Onunwah has been placed on administrative duty, said Hilda Ramirez, a spokeswoman for the 723,000-student Los Angeles Unified School District.
The district does not permit dissection in middle schools, Ms. Ramirez said, and dissections at high schools can be performed only on animals purchased from scientific centers.
Mr. Onunwah, who was charged with a misdemeanor, will be arraigned later this month. He could serve up to one year in jail and be fined up to $20,000. Case UpdatesThe family of a second Lincoln Elementary School student is accusing a special-education teacher of sexual misconduct.
A claim has been filed against the Ontario-Montclair and Los Angeles Unified school districts, as well as against the teacher. An attorney for the student's family said the goal of the $5million claim is to change the districts' hiring practices, have the teacher fired from Ontario-Montclair, and compensate the alleged victim.
Collins Onunwah Jr., 53, was arrested Jan. 17 on suspicion of committing a lewd act with a 13-year-old developmentally disabled girl who was in the same class as the second alleged victim. The second girl, who is 12, came forward while Onunwah was awaiting court proceedings.
Collins G. Onunwah Jr., 53, was arrested by Ontario police on suspicion of inappropriatley touching a 13-year-old developmentally disabled girl.
Prosecutors have not yet decided whether they will file charges in the first case. Onunwah's bail was exonerated and the case was taken off the calendar, said San Bernardino County Deputy District Attorney Jason Anderson in March.
While the district attorney's office is reviewing the case, Onunwah will remain on paid administrative leave from the Ontario-Montclair district, said James Kidwell, deputy superintendent, in an earlier interview.
According to the claim, which was filed in March, the second accuser was transferred to Onunwah's class at the start of the 2006-07 school year.
Shortly after that, she "began coming home with bruises and scratches on her inner thighs and arms. Her behavior became noticeably altered - refusing to bathe, having trouble sleeping, refusing to exit the vehicle at school and being visibly frightened of Mr. Onunwah," according to the claim.
The family's attorney, Steve Rivas, said the girl's mother had written a letter to Onunwah asking him to explain the scratches on her daughter's body, but he never responded.
When the Montclair woman found out about Onunwah's arrest, she informed the Ontario Police Department of her daughter's alleged abuse, Rivas said.
It was not clear at press time whether Ontario police were investigating the second accuser's allegations.
Although Onunwah is the focus of the claim, Rivas is including the Ontario-Montclair School District as well. By filing the claim with the district, Rivas said it is the family's intent to notify school officials that they plan to move forward with a lawsuit.
The Ontario-Montclair district received the claim, but officials are unable to discuss the case because it is a personnel issue, said Perry Huyck, a manager with the district's risk management department.
Earlier this month, Rivas and his co-counsel sent the same claim to Los Angeles Unified, where Onunwah formerly taught. The attorneys claim the district should have released information about his past.
"I have not gotten any correspondence acknowledging the receipt (of the claim) at this time," said Sanford Jossen, the attorney working with Rivas.
In 2000, Onunwah was accused - and later acquitted - of animal cruelty during a biology lesson at Gage Elementary School in Huntington Park. He suffocated a rabbit in front of special-education students in his class, according to the Los Angeles Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.
After the incident, Onunwah was put on administrative assignment.
Both lawyers are claiming that Onunwah's past actions should have been released during his interview with the Ontario-Montclair School District.
"Our goal is the same as the district's should be," said Rivas.
Among other things, Rivas said, the family wants to "change the district's policy regarding screening teachers, as well as classified employees like janitors, to include all criminal history like arrests and charges of applicants."
The districts have 45 days to consider the claim. If they do not respond it is deemed a denial, Jossen said. From that point, the lawyers have six months to respond.
"We will file a lawsuit unless a wise approach prevails," Jossen said.
The claim filed with Ontario-Montclair comes on the heels of another incident of alleged abuse by a teacher.
In February, former substitute teacher Eric Norman Olsen pleaded no contest to charges of improperly touching six young female students. That plea will bring him a sentence ranging from probation to five years in state prison. | Source: Daily Bulletin - April 8, 2007
Update posted on Apr 8, 2007 - 2:22PM |
Godwin Collins Onunwah, charged with suffocating a rabbit in front of a class of middle school students, has been acquitted following a second trial in Huntington Park, Calif. An earlier trial resulted in a hung jury, with 11 of 12 jurors voting to convict.
(Update from ALDF - Update posted on Apr 12, 2002 - 12:00AM |
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