Student accidentally drinks alcohol from teacher’s mug, suffers head injury
Kim and Devin Perry have previously dealt with an alleged abuse incident in 2022
A Utah student with developmental delays consumed liquid from her teacher's "stainless steel tumbler" mug, which contained hard seltzer that the teacher was secretly consuming during class, as per law enforcement and the child's parents.
The student, Flor Perry, eventually tripped and struck her head at her Farmington school after drinking from the cup, which is said to belong to Katherine Meatoga, her parents claim.
"We can't determine how much she drank," Flor's mother, Kim Perry, shared in an interview with local NBC affiliate KSL.
"Her mental age is similar to that of a toddler, even though she's 21 years old," explained Perry regarding Flor, who has 1p36 deletion syndrome, a rare genetic condition making her nonverbal.
"We were informed her teacher was intoxicated during school hours," said Perry.
Kim and Devin Perry have previously dealt with an alleged abuse incident in 2022 involving Flor at another school, according to her parents. Currently, they are facing a repeated scenario.
"We’re facing this issue yet again," Devin Perry remarked. "This is the second time our daughter has been involved in something like this. How many more cases are out there that we're not aware of or that aren’t being communicated to parents?"
Meatoga was detained and charged with possession or consumption of alcohol at school premises, a class B misdemeanor, connected to the hard seltzer incident on March 18, KSL reports.
Meatoga worked at the Vista Education Center within the Davis School District at the incident's time.
The district reports she has since resigned. A district representative told KSL that Meatoga consumed "hard seltzer in a stainless steel tumbler" when Flor “obtained the employee's cup” and drank from it.
"The Davis School District and our community hold educators to high standards," the representative commented.
"Regrettably, in this case, an employee breached that trust. We have no tolerance for alcohol possession or consumption on school property."
Flor's parents explain she was adopted from Ecuador at age 7, after Kim Perry encountered her while working at an orphanage during Flor’s infancy.
Flor's parents note that although she understands 20 hand signs for communication, it was not possible for the Perrys to know of the incident unless informed by authorities.
Meatoga is scheduled for court on May 5.