Superintendent, Educators Charged in Shocking Abuse Case of Autistic Boy

In March 2025, the Millsap Independent School District (ISD) in Texas faced serious allegations involving the abuse of a 10-year-old autistic student named Alex Cornelius. A video recorded on February 18, 2025, by a former assistant teacher, surfaced online showing two educators allegedly mistreating Alex in a special education classroom at Millsap Elementary School. The footage reportedly depicts one teacher attempting to slap Alex and another throwing an object at him.

The educators involved were identified as Jennifer Dale and Paxton Bean. Following an investigation by the Parker County Sheriff's Office, both were arrested on March 20, 2025. Dale was charged with official oppression, a Class A misdemeanor, while Bean faced charges of official oppression and injury to a child with intentional bodily injury, a third-degree felony.

Superintendent Edie Martin was also arrested on March 20, 2025, for failure to report with the intent to conceal, a felony charge. Investigations revealed that Martin was informed of the abuse on February 19 but did not notify Alex's mother, Carissa Cornelius, until February 28, and even then, failed to disclose that the incident involved her son. Martin reportedly contacted the district's law firm to commission an external investigation but did not report the suspected abuse to the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services or local law enforcement as required by state law.