HILLSBORO, Mo. – Parents and a teacher are coming forward about an elementary school teacher they say mistreated special needs students in Hillsboro.

“I was notified by Child Protective Services,” Samantha Wilson said.

Wilson said it was a call about her 6-year-old special needs son.

“They said his teacher picked him up by his feet and put him in the trash can and said he is putting my son where he belongs,” she said.

Teacher Nerissa Dickinson says she was also in the room. In a phone interview with FOX 2, she said the teacher “…held him over the trash can, saying he was going to throw him away and the little boy was terrified.”

Dickinson said she called the abuse hotline and told school leaders.

“They were disappointed in what I’d seen and what I’d witnessed, and they pretty much said for me to offer the teacher a break whenever he gets out of control like that,” she said.

“Give him a break?” the boy’s stepfather said. “Well, what about the child? Did you give the child a break?”

He’s also concerned about another report involving Amanda Beranek’s 7-year-old special needs son.

“The principals called me early in the morning and said, ‘Hey, this incident happened with your son; we just wanted to make you aware of it and DCFS will call you to take a statement,” Beranek said, adding that her son “…said one of his teachers had grabbed him by the waist and twisted his skin and left a mark.”

Beranek hasn’t heard the result of her son’s investigation, but Samantha Wilson obtained a Children’s Division investigative report involving her son.

That report shows it was ruled “unsubstantiated for emotional maltreatment.” An investigator wrote, “There was insufficient evidence the incident resulted in an injury to (the student’s) psychological capacity or emotional stability which had an observable or substantial change in behavior, emotional response, or cognition.”

FOX 2 is not naming the teacher because of this finding. The teacher’s attorney, Travis W.T. Grafe, told FOX 2, “The allegation in question was thoroughly investigated by two independent Missouri agencies. The Missouri Department of Social Services (DSS) investigated and found the allegation unsubstantiated (that no abuse or neglect occurred); therefore, that administrative matter was closed.”

Hillsboro School District Superintendent Dr. John Isaacson said the school notified law enforcement and put the accused teacher on leave. Dr. Isaacson added that it let the Children’s Division and police investigate. He said the accused teacher has not been back since and is no longer employed by the Hillsboro R-III School District.

Hillsboro police added that its investigation continues.