Jade JacksonIndianapolis Star
A former teacher at an Indianapolis elementary school is accused of orchestrating and filming a fight between two 6-year-old boys inside a classroom, according to court documents.
Julious Johnican is facing a charge of neglect of a dependent, a level 6 felony, and is accused of failing to intervene in an altercation that occurred between the students in his classroom at George Washington Carver Montessori IPS #87 last year.
"Schools should be safe spaces for our children to learn and grow and Mr. Johnican's alleged conduct jeopardized that," Marion County Prosecutor Ryan Mears said in a news release. "As parents, we place trust in our teachers and the adults in power to keep our children safe and there should be serious consequences when they fail to meet that standard and engage in or encourage dangerous behavior."
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According to court documents, between Sept. 20 and Oct. 1, 2023, Johnican recorded cellphone video of a fight between two students in his classroom. In the video, a man's voice is heard behind the camera saying "Y'all good?" and "You done?"
In the affidavit, one child identified as "O.D." is considered a victim of child neglect. His family is currently suing the school district for the situation. The other child is identified as "J.G."
Both children were heard saying "get off me," and J.G. who was visibly on top of O.D. was seen striking O.D. in the chest, back, head and face before stopping and repeatedly telling O.D. to stop messing with him.
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The teacher is then heard saying, "That's right J.G., you get him," before adding "You need to stop messing with him. I know you want to hit him when he does things and I know you want to hit him because he makes you upset but you can't do that, OK?"
According to the affidavit, school staff said Johnican made several attempts for mediation with O.D.'s parents, "however, they refused to come in and basically said for him to deal with it." Johnican recorded the video, the staffer said, hoping that if the parents were to see what their child was doing to other children maybe they would come in and help.
Johnican showed the video to O.D.'s parents who then reported it to the school.
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O.D.'s mother claimed that she was not made aware of the situation until November 2023 when she attended a parent-teacher conference. She and O.D.'s father were shown the tape. She said she could not watch 10 seconds of it before attempting to grab the phone. The parents asked Johnican how could he "let this happen" before going to the front office and withdrawing O.D. from the school.
O.D.'s mother was able to make a copy of the video.
Once school officials were made aware of the video, the teacher was placed on administrative leave, before he decided to resign.
A lawyer of Indianapolis Public Schools said Johnican was hired during the pandemic as an emergency-permitted teacher who was not a fully certified educator. They also said IPS immediately reported the incident once knowing about it to the Department of Children Services, but DCS did not initially respond.
More: IPS admits to falling short in properly notifying parents after disturbing video surfaces
While interviewed by DCS, O.D. stated that there were multiple incidents where he was assaulted. In one situation, O.D.'s mother was called by school officials who stated that they could not get her son to calm down. She rushed to the school where O.D. told her that another student slammed his head on a desk.
O.D. also told DCS that the teacher would hold him down allowing other children to hit him. O.D.'s parents confirm that they would receive calls from the school and Johnican about O.D. The parents were told by DCS that the department would be coordinating with law enforcement.
On May 16, 2024, it was noted Johnican was still in possession of his cellphone and his lawyer told officers that they were unable to provide whether or not Johnican would be participating in a recorded statement for the allegations.
IndyStar has reached out to Johnican's attorney for comment.
More questions than answers: Despite teacher's disturbing video, school officials and DCS failed to involve police
Contact Jade Jackson at Jade.Jackson@IndyStar.com. Follow her on Twitter @IAMJADEJACKSON.
