Cases dismissed against Rivermont school employees accused of child abuse

ROANOKE, Va. (WDBJ) - UPDATE (6/9/25): Charges against three Rivermont Roanoke Southwest School employees have been dismissed in Roanoke City Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court. The cases were dismissed with prejudice, meaning there was no conviction, and the charges cannot be refiled.

ORIGINAL STORY: WDBJ7 has learned three staff members at Rivermont Roanoke Southwest School have been accused of physically abusing a student with special needs. The school serves children with emotional disabilities.

(Note: The names of the employees were removed from this article after the charges were dropped.)

Court documents obtained by WDBJ7 show the employees were served with warrants Thursday on misdemeanor charges of contributing to the delinquency of a minor.

WDBJ7 spoke with the student’s parent, who wished to remain anonymous. The parent said the child has been dealing with emotional trauma in the aftermath of the alleged abuse.

“On the video footage, it shows that he was kicked a few times. He was forcefully kneed so hard that it knocked him backward. He was illegally restrained with his full body dangling in the air,” said the parent.

According to warrants, the charges stem from two incidents February 26 and 27.

“What happened was I received paperwork that did not match what my child was saying when he came home from school. That caused me to further investigate as he had physical evidence on his body that indicated the stories weren’t quite matching up here,” said the parent.

The parent said the school reported the February 26 incident to Child Protective Services but not the February 27 incident. The parent reports viewing security camera footage of both incidents in April after the school initially denied access to the footage. This led to the charges being pressed.

“Staff also used their feet to push the student down the hallway as he lay stretched across the hall, clearly resisting out of pain and fear. He was trying to grab the hall with his feet on one side and his hands on the other,” said the parent.

The warrants outline all these accusations. The warrants allege the child was lifted and pinned against the wall by James Hagins during the incident February 26. The warrants also allege Christian Chaney pushed the child down the hallway with his feet on February 27 and that Bernard Basham kicked and kneed the child on the same day.

The warrants also describe physical evidence on the child’s body.

“The student had visible bruises on his body. One was about the size of a small- to medium-sized avocado, so pretty large-sized deep bruising on the legs, on his lower back, and the chest area. The one on his chest was a finger-sized bruise from where a staff member had pinned him against a wall with a single finger so forcefully that it caused a deep bruise into his chest,” said the parent.

The Roanoke Police Department confirmed its Special Victims Unit is investigating these incidents. The parent urges any other families who’ve had similar experiences to come forward.

“I honestly want to encourage them that they go directly to the police and not only to school staff. This ensures that the children with disabilities are protected and treated with dignity and care,” said the parent.

Rivermont Schools sent the following statement to WDBJ7 on the situation:

Rivermont is aware of this situation and is supporting our students, staff, and community. The physical and emotional well-being of our students and staff is our top priority.

The three school employees will be arraigned in Roanoke Juvenile and Domestic Relations District Court on May 19.