From Disability Rights International (5.26.11):
Director of Massachusetts "Shock School" Resigns After Being Indicted on Criminal Charges
Dear Supporters,
Today, we can celebrate a small victory. The director of the Judge Rotenberg Center (JRC) of Massachusetts, which uses electric shocks to punish children and young adults with disabilities, has resigned in the face of criminal charges. Disability Rights International documented the use of electric shock and long-term restraints at this facility in our report Torture not Treatment published last year.
Matthew Israel, founder and director of JRC, was charged with misleading a grand jury and destroying evidence in relation to an incident in 2007 in which a prank phone call to the center from a person posing as an employee led to two children with disabilities being given dozens of electrical shocks for absolutely no reason. One of these children was restrained and given 77 shocks over three hours.
Yesterday, Israel accepted a court settlement which requires him to resign as director, and sentences him to five years of probation...
More Coverage Below
via The Washington Examiner (5.25.11):
Court indicts founder of Mass. special-education school
via NPR (5.26.11):
Founder Forced To Leave Controversial Special Needs School
via the Canton Patch (5.26.11):
Judge Rotenberg Center's Founder Responds to Indictment, Allegations
via The Boston Globe (5.25.11):
Rotenberg founder set to face charges
Matthew Israel's tactics have been condemned as barbaric and savage by many top medical and mental health professionals.
By Patricia Wen and Brian McGrory
The founder of the controversial Judge Rotenberg Educational Center is scheduled to face criminal charges in Dedham today arising from a night in 2007 when two special needs teenagers at the center were wrongfully administered dozens of electrical shocks, according to the father of one of the victims and another person with knowledge about the case.
In a deal reached with the state attorney general's office, Matthew Israel, 77, is expected to be spared prison time in return for stepping down from the Canton-based center that he founded 40 years ago and accepting a five-year probationary term, said Charles Dumas, the father of one of the two victims in the 2007 case who said he spoke yesterday with prosecutors. As part of the agreement, the school's day-to-day activities will also be overseen by a court-approved monitor...
The Rotenberg Center consistently receives state approval to continuing operating, despite administering skin-shock treatments to students as a disciplinary measure. How can this story be used to advocate against the use of seclusion and restraints? Share your thoughts in comments below.
For 40 years JRC has provided very effective education and treatment to both emotionally disturbed students and students with autistic-like behaviors. Please visit http://www.judgerc.org/responsetoblogs.pdf to learn more about our program.
Posted by: Judge Rotenberg Center | July 06, 2011 at 08:20 PM
I had no idea how to approach this before-now I'm lkoced and loaded.
Posted by: Meadow | July 21, 2011 at 11:03 AM