KINGWOOD – A civil case is pending against the Preston County Board of Education and the former Central Preston Middle School teacher who duct-taped a student’s mouth and wrists on multiple occasions inside the classroom in October 2023.
A lawsuit against the board and Cassandra Diann Sisler, of Terra Alta, was filed by the student and the student’s parents last month in the Circuit Court of Preston County.
The lawsuit states that on four different occasions, Sisler duct-taped the student’s mouth, bound his hands then made him perform physical labor such as moving chairs within the classroom. The actions occurred in view of the student’s friends and classmates. According to the civil action, the student also sustained physical injury when the tape was eventually removed. Sisler and a teacher’s aide who witnessed her conduct were allegedly the only adults present in the classroom. The suit alleges the student suffered physical and emotional harm.
The lawsuit also asserts that the Board of Education was negligent in hiring, retention, training and supervision, and that the board breached its duty by failing to prevent or address the repeated abuse of the student, failing to properly hire, failing to dismiss, failing to train and failing to supervise Sisler, her aide, and others unknown to plaintiffs who were in a position to prevent the harm suffered by the student.
The plaintiffs are asking for judgment against the both the Preston County Board of Education and Sisler, jointly and severally in an amount sufficient to compensate plaintiffs, and punitive damages against the defendants in an amount that will set an example, deter others from committing such conduct in the future and satisfy all other reasons of law and public policy for an award of punitive or exemplary damages.
The plaintiffs are demanding a trial by jury. The counsel for the school board and Sisler are requesting that the trial be moved from Preston County court to federal court.
Ahead of her December 2024 criminal trial, Sisler entered a plea agreement on four felony counts of child abuse resulting in injury.
Under the agreement, Sisler agreed to plead no contest to a lesser misdemeanor offense of child neglect creating risk of bodily injury. She also agreed to permanently surrender her West Virginia teaching credentials and agreed to never seek teaching credentials in any other state or territory of the United States. As part of the plea agreement, the state agreed to dismiss the felony indictment against Sisler.
Circuit Court Judge Steven Shaffer sentenced Sisler to six months in prison, court costs and $100 fine. He suspended the sentence and sentenced her to 6 months’ home confinement and 3 years of supervised probation.
