Mary Tracy Morrison, 51, pleaded guilty to permitting the abuse of a child after she berated a victim and gave a high five to another pupil who attacked their classmate
Mary Tracy Morrison has been sentenced(Image: Craighead Co. Sheriff’s Office)
A top school employee has been jailed after she was accused of being the “ring leader” of a child fight club.
Mary Tracy Morrison, 51, who owned and was director of the Delta Institute for the Developing Brain and the Engage programme in Jonesboro, Arkansas, pleaded guilty on Monday to one count of permitting child abuse and four counts of contributing to the delinquency of a juvenile. It comes after she was arrested in April 2025 when a mother alerted police that her son was being mentally and physically abused at school.
Police obtained video footage that was obtained via a search warrant which revealed Morrison “instructed the child to sit on the floor while being surrounded on the outside of a circle by 18 other juvenile students and Dr. Morrison,” court documents said.
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The probable cause affidavit said Morrison ordered other pupils to place their hands on the child in the middle and proceeded to hit him with an “unknown object.” An affidavit, obtained by Arkansas’ Craighead County Sheriff’s Office, said Morrison berated the child as another child was seen kicking and choking the victim.
Morrison was later seen “giving the juvenile a high five, displaying her pleasure with the student’s actions,” the document said. The horrifying incident lasted 30 minutes, and featured a teacher directing a student to hit a classmate “in the private area”, according to deputies. After the incident, Morrison “instructed the victim to apologise to all other students” and told the pupils to never discuss what had happened again, said the document.
Morrison was sentenced to 30 days in jail, 120 days of house arrest with electronic monitoring and nine years of probation. She was also banned from working with children in any professional capacity in the future and was required to complete a mental health assessment and surrender her occupational therapy licence.
School employees Michael Bean, 38, Kristen Bell, and Kathrine Lipscomb, 45, were also apprehended in connection with the allegations of abuse. A copy of the document, which detailed the allegations seen by The Mirror, said: “Another subject, identified as Michael Bean Jr. (possibly a teacher’s aide), can be seen entering the classroom and watching as the juvenile victim was being assaulted.
“Mr. Bean failed to intervene as well. A third teacher, identified as Kristin Bell can be seen walking through the classroom to a desk, where teacher Katherine Lipscomb was seated. Ms. Lipscomb and Ms. Bell can be seen witnessing the abuse and not intervening.
“During the duration of this incident which lasted approximately 30 minutes, Dr. Morrison can be heard asking the other juvenile students if they would like to say something that they don’t like about the juvenile victim’s appearance or is there anything about the victim’s looks that they don’t like.
“Many students speak up and as one student is remarking Dr. Morrison can be seen hitting the victim with an unknown object and instructing the victim to look at the student that is talking.”
Lipscomb’s bond is set at $100,000 (£73,500), and Bean and Bell’s bonds were set at $10,000 (£7,350). All were ordered to have no contact with the school and its students.
