A second parent has come forward with concerns that a teacher’s aide at a New Jersey elementary school may have disciplined children by forcing them to ingest hot sauce.
Enmanuel Henriquez says the principal at Dale Avenue Elementary School in Paterson called him last week to report that there had been “an incident” at the school and that administrators learned a staff member had been giving hot sauce to students as punishment.
His account aligns with what another parent, Quasheema Frye, has said publicly after a substitute teacher in the district raised allegations on social media.
Henriquez says he was not told whether his 5-year-old daughter, Emma — who has autism and is nonverbal — was among the affected students. Still, he suspects she may have been.
“She couldn’t give me too much detail,” Henriquez, 32, claims. “She said it was still under investigation.”
In a statement previously shared by a district spokesperson, Paterson Public Schools said it was aware of the allegation involving Dale Avenue Elementary School and “immediately initiated an investigation in accordance with established protocols.”
The spokesperson also said “the individual involved is no longer employed by the District” and that the proper authorities were notified.
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“We are committed to ensuring that every student feels safe, respected, and supported,” the spokesperson said, adding that the district could not share additional details “due to the nature of the matter.”
The inquiry appears to have followed a Facebook post last month from a substitute teacher who alleged that a school employee had been putting hot sauce in the mouths of pre-kindergarten and kindergarten students “as discipline for their behavior.”
Kenya Hilton, the substitute who posted the allegations on Dec. 22, said she did not personally witness the alleged conduct, but was told about it by another substitute teacher who claimed they had.
Frye, 36, whose two sons are also on the autism spectrum and attend Dale Avenue Elementary School, has said she raised concerns with administrators after learning about the post. She said she was initially assured her son Lamond — one of fewer than a dozen children in a special-needs class — had not been given hot sauce.
Two weeks later, on Jan. 9, Frye said the principal told her an investigation had confirmed Lamond had been given hot sauce and that the person responsible was no longer at the school. Frye later alleged the principal denied ever confirming her son had ingested hot sauce.
Both Henriquez and Frye say they do not know how many children may have been forced to ingest hot sauce, or how often it may have occurred. They fear it may have happened more than once.
Neither parent says they have been told the identity of the aide who was allegedly involved.
“That’s the thing that I’m worried about because my daughter — she wouldn’t tell me if anything is wrong,” Henriquez says of Emma. “If they’re giving hot sauce to the kids — I don’t know what else is going on in the school.”
Henriquez and Frye also described noticing changes in their children’s behavior in recent months. Henriquez says that “every time I pull out the hot sauce for whatever I’m making, she covers her mouth.”
Salaam Ismial, a director of the National United Youth Council, a youth and family advocacy group, is representing Henriquez and Frye.
Ismial says he, Henriquez and Frye are scheduled to meet on Wednesday, Jan. 21, with the Passaic County District Attorney’s Office. The office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
