Jennifer Carter, mouth-taping secretary, pleads guilty to misdemeanor child abuse

In October, Jennifer Carter, a secretary at Palmer Elementary, was charged with two misdemeanors for the way she dealt with a misbehaving six-year-old student -- by taping his hands together and his mouth shut. Today, Carter pleaded guilty to one of those counts, for which she'll receive an 18-month deferred...

By Michael Roberts

January 19, 2010

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In October, Jennifer Carter, a secretary at Palmer Elementary, was charged with two misdemeanors for the way she dealt with a misbehaving six-year-old student -- by taping his hands together and his mouth shut.

Today, Carter pleaded guilty to one of those counts, for which she'll receive an 18-month deferred sentence -- a reminder that binding and muzzling is never okay, even when kids do the darnedest things.

Read the Denver District Attorney's Office release below:

FORMER SCHOOL WORKER PLEADS GUILTY TO CHILD ABUSE

A former school secretary accused of taping a student's hands together and placing tape over his mouth pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor child abuse charge and was given a deferred judgment sentence today.

Jennifer Carter (dob: 01/15/64) pleaded guilty today to misdemeanor child abuse (M2). In exchange for her guilty plea, a count of false imprisonment (M2) was dismissed. She was sentenced to an 18-month deferred judgment sentence with court-supervised probation.

Carter was accused of taping the student's hands and mouth together after he became unruly at Palmer Elementary School last October.

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Michael Roberts began his career with Westword in 1990 as music editor. In 1999, he took on a new role, full-time media reporter, as author of a column called The Message. In 2008, he became the lead writer for Westword's news blog, The Latest Word, a position he held until January 2023. Michael continues to freelance for Westword, covering everything from business to sports and the media; he also contributes to Jazziz, a national music magazine. He holds a bachelor's degree from what is now Colorado Mesa University and master's degrees from the University of California, Los Angeles, and Northwestern University.

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