Suzanne Means

TEXAS - A Lowery Freshman Center teacher was indicted on child abuse charges for allegedly burning, choking and punching a mentally challenged teenager in 2008.

The father of the 14-year-old notified police when he discovered burn marks on the child’s buttocks. A doctor confirmed the allegation, identifying the mark on the teen’s skin as a 12-inch circular burn mark.

During a forensic interview in March, the teenager told detectives his teacher Susanne Means, 46, was responsible for hitting him with a hot pan. He described the incident as “painful.” He told detectives she hit him one time on both sides of his butt.

Means denied the allegations to officers when she was interviewed March 13, 2008.

When officers searched her classroom they found it was equipped with a full kitchen including a stove and various cookware, such as pots, pans and skillets.

A U.S. Secret Service agent administered a polygraph examination, which Means failed.

When officers were investigating the allegations, a family friend of the teenager provided a written statement stating the boy told him he had been punched in the right shoulder and choked by the teacher as well.

Means was booked into the Collin County Detention Center July 30, 2008 and released that same day after posting a $5,000 bond.

Injury to a child is a first degree felony punishable from 5-99 years in prison.

Contact Stephanie Flemmons at sflemmons@acnpapers.com