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MAYWOOD — The superintendent of Maywood Public Schools has been charged with felony child abuse following an incident at the school on Tuesday, Oct. 1.
Mark Bejot, 64, has been charged with committing intentional child abuse – no injury, a Class 3A felony.
Bejot has been superintendent of Maywood Public Schools since 2020.
According to an affidavit filed in Frontier County Court, the Frontier County Sheriff’s Office started an investigation after a family member contacted the office who was concerned about an incident at the school involving a 12-year-old student.
The affidavit notes that Bejot approached the 12-year-old who was wearing a cowboy hat in the school commons area and asked him to remove the hat.
Surveillance video and witness statements indicate that Bejot attempted to take the hat after the student took it off and held it to their side opposite Bejot.
Bejot then “leaps for the hat, wrapping his arms around (the student) as he stands behind him,” according to the affidavit.
The video shows the student attempting to keep the hat away from Bejot, but Bejot is pulling backwards on his arms. “It then appears that Bejot hooks his hands into (the student’s) armpits pulling backwards,” per the affidavit.
The student then fell to the floor from the stool they were sitting on.
“It appears that (the student) is attempting to get off the floor, but Bejot is pushing down on his shoulders keeping him from standing up and pulling at the cowboy hat,” the affidavit states.
Bejot gets the hat from the student’s hand and lets them up. The video shows Bejot stepping toward the student, who then raises a fist and Bejot backed up slightly.
Speaking later with the Frontier County Sheriff’s Office, the student reported getting a cut or scratch from the incident as a result of Bejot’s actions.
Upon review of the video and hearing witness statements, the Frontier County Sheriff’s Office believed, “the conduct of Bejot was unnecessary and excessive for the school policy violation that initiated the contact,” per the affidavit.
An arrest warrant was issued for Bejot on Monday, Oct. 21.
The case is being prosecuted by the Nebraska Attorney General’s Office.
The Maywood Public Schools Board of Education held an emergency meeting on Oct. 21 with the “purpose of discussing, considering and taking potential action regarding Superintendent Mark Bejot,” according to the minutes from the meeting.
In a later statement by the board they noted that Bejot was placed on administrative leave and that, “Placing an employee on administrative leave is not any determination of guilt or wrongdoing.”