BOSTON (MyFoxBoston.com) -- A teacher's aide was arrested Friday in connection with the assault of a student.
Charles Ramsay, 85, of Dorchester, is a teacher's aide at the Higginson-Lewis K-8 School in Roxbury. An employee from the school reported an incident they believe they saw between Ramsay and a student, which prompted police to launch an investigation.
Parents of the student involved say their daughter has Autism and was afraid to report what had happened because she thought she may get in trouble. They say the teacher allegedly touched their daughter's private area twice at the school and cannot believe that someone would take advantage of their special needs child.
The family did not want to be identified due to the nature of the allegations, but FOX 25 has learned that the student involved is an 11-year-old girl who is in the sixth grade.
The girl's father said the aide was rubbing his daughter's hands, "rubbing her back, actually touched her bum and actually touched her front part, private part."
Her parents were told days later that a school employee said she witnessed the aide touching the child again.
On Friday, Ramsay was arrested and charged with indecent assault and battery on a child under 14.
Joy Salesman-Oliver, principal of the Higginson-Lewis school sent out a message to parents Friday night that read in-part: "He has since resigned from the District and today, that individual was arrested. From the beginning we have been working very closely with the Boston Police, other appropriate authorities, as well as our families. Our focus is on supporting you and our students, on taking swift action when it's needed, and on making sure our school is safe and â just as important â that our students feel safe and know they are safe here every day."
BPS Interim Superintendent John McDonough also released a statement saying that this is the second school employee arrested in less than a month.
"Both cases are extraordinarily difficult and distressing and our full focus is on supporting the families who may be involved. In both cases the Boston Police and our school teams reacted quickly to keep students and families safe," he said. "The individual arrested today had passed several background checks, like all employees, first upon hire and then at regular intervals during his employment. On Monday of this week I gathered all of our school leaders together on a conference call to reinforce our expectations and protocols around vigilance, rapid reporting to proper authorities, and student and family support whenever there are concerns about student safety."
Boston Mayor Marty Walsh released the following statement Friday night: "There is absolutely nothing more important to me than the safety and well-being of our children. Any incident in our schools is distressing, but this is particularly upsetting and I have been stunned and deeply disturbed by these allegations. When we first became aware of this incident, Boston Public Schools and the Boston Police Department took swift and decisive action. They are working together closely to ensure the safety and well-being of our students, in constant communication to reinforce our protocols around reporting and family and student support. This is completely unacceptable and we will remain vigilant as this case evolves."