Parents of autistic boy locked in school warehouse file damages lawsuit

The Mainichi Shimbun
November 1, 2006
Source: http://mdn.mainichi-msn.co.jp/national/news/20061101p2a00m0na015000c.html

The parents of an autistic boy who suffered injuries after panicking and jumping out of a window when a teacher locked him in a warehouse have filed a 20 million yen lawsuit against the local government and school officials.

The parents filed the suit in the Hachioji branch of the Tokyo District Court on Wednesday, demanding damages from the Koganei Municipal Government, which managed the school the boy attended, and other parties including the school's principal.

"The school had no understanding of autism, and its response after the incident was insincere," one of the boy's parents was quoted as saying.

The boy who suffered injuries was in a class for disabled students and 8 years old at the time of the incident. When he wandered into a warehouse next to the school's gymnasium during a physical education class in November 2004, a male teacher told him, "If that's where you want to be, you can stay there for a while," and locked him inside, according to the lawsuit.

The boy panicked, and jumped out of a second-floor window, falling 5 meters to the ground. He suffered serious injuries as a result. (Mainichi)