Prosecutor charges paraprofessional for allegedly assaulting student with shoe

EASTPOINTE — A former Forest Park Elementary School paraprofessional is facing a misdemeanor assault and battery charge after she allegedly struck a student on the head with the child’s shoe.

On May 9, the Macomb County Prosecutor’s Office issued a press release that said Kimberley Horen, 53, was charged with assaulting a first-grade student. The Eastpointe resident was charged with one count of assault and battery, a misdemeanor punishable by up to 93 days in jail. Forest Park is part of Eastpointe Community Schools.

“As a trusted educator, the defendant had a responsibility to provide a safe and focused learning environment for students. Instead, she violated that trust,” Macomb County Prosecutor Peter J. Lucido said in the press release. “This behavior is unacceptable, and we are committed to pursuing justice to ensure that such misconduct has no place in our schools.”

The Macomb County Prosecutor’s Office said that on or about Oct. 18, 2024, a parent reported her 6-year-old son, who has autism, was assaulted by a member of the staff at Forest Park.

“It is alleged that Kimberley Horen, a paraprofessional in the school, took the child’s shoe off and then deliberately struck the child on the head with it,” the press release states.

Eastpointe Police Lt. Alexander Holish offered a comment on the case.

“The Eastpointe Police Department always takes any allegations of child abuse or child assault very seriously, and investigates those claims diligently. Our findings are then always turned over to the Macomb County Prosecutor’s Office for potential charges, if any,” he said.  “We appreciate the transparency of the school that reported the incident and started our investigation, and we also appreciate the pursuit of the truth by our detectives who were assigned to the case.”

The Prosecutor’s Office in the press release said that the employee was allowed to resign, but the school district said that is not the case.

“The paraprofessional was placed on an immediate leave while an internal investigation was conducted and was terminated once that investigation was complete,”  Eastpointe Community Schools Communications and Marketing Coordinator Caitlyn Kienitz said. “We have high expectations of our employees, and we absolutely do not accept that kind of behavior in Eastpointe Community Schools.”

Staff Writer Andy Kozlowski contributed to this report.