CRUEL & UNUSUAL

New Jersey Teacher Accused of Dangling Autistic 4-Year-Old Upside-Down in Class

Protesters rallied Saturday to demand that the teacher’s name be released.

A New Jersey town is up in arms after a teacher at a local preschool was accused of using a wildly inappropriate disciplinary technique on an autistic 4-year-old. On Saturday, protesters marched through South Orange demanding the name of a teacher who allegedly held Daylan Wilkins, who is nonverbal, upside-down by his ankles in front of his class, according to NJ.com. Protesters chanted ​​“Justice for Daylan!” and “We demand transparency!” as Daylan and his mother, Devena, looked on. The teacher was apparently suspended from Montrose Early Childhood Center after a colleague reported the incident to authorities, but Wilkins’ family was not informed about what had happened for over 48 hours.