A teacher from a New York school district, where “timeout boxes” were allegedly used to confine young students, has been arrested, as reported by authorities and media.
Karrie Haverstock, 60, a special education teacher in the Salmon River Central School District, was arrested on child endangerment charges on Wednesday, March 18, according to New York State Police, as reported by the Albany Times-Union.
The arrest followed accusations from a parent who claimed Haverstock placed their nonverbal daughter alone in a closet and used toothpicks to poke the girl’s forehead, according to the newspaper.
Franklin County District Attorney Elizabeth M. Crawford informed the newspaper that Haverstock’s arrest is not connected to the alleged “timeout boxes,” which are under investigation by police and the New York Department of Education.
New York State Police Trooper Brandi Ashley told the Times-Union that the police were informed in November about Haverstock’s alleged mistreatment of a student on or around May 16, 2025.
In the previous year, Haverstock and several staff members were placed on leave following allegations that special needs students were confined in wooden boxes.
A former school board member, Chrissy Onientatahse Jacobs, shared photos of the alleged wooden “timeout box” on Facebook in December, according to the New York Times.
In January, the mother of a non-verbal, autistic elementary student told Us Weekly that after seeing the Facebook post, she was informed the box was built for her son, who was allegedly placed inside.
The woman, Rhonda Garrow, filed a notice of legal claim on January 15 against the Salmon River Central School District, alleging that the district violated her 8-year-old son’s civil rights through the alleged use of the “box-shaped wooden dog cage.”
“He can’t speak, and he can’t fight back… he can’t tell his family or anyone that he was being placed into there,” Garrow told Us. “It’s heartbreaking,” she added.
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Following an independent investigation into the alleged timeout boxes, the Salmon River Central School District shared an update on the findings on March 12.
The investigation revealed that two timeout boxes were used briefly in November and December 2025 at Salmon River Elementary School. The district’s news release stated that there was no evidence of abuse, corporal punishment, or intentional mistreatment of students. However, the report identified issues with regulatory compliance in the implementation and documentation of timeout procedures under New York State regulations.
The school district did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Us on Monday, March 23.
Haverstock, who previously worked at Salmon River Elementary School and later transferred to the St. Regis Mohawk School, is scheduled to appear in the Town of Fort Covington Court at a later date, according to the Times-Union.
