‘This is not just about my child’: Mother releases statement after son attacked in IPS classroom while teacher recorded it

INDIANAPOLIS — For the first time we’re hearing from the mother of the Indianapolis Public Schools student who was attacked in class while a teacher videotaped it.

The mother of the 7-year-old who attended Washington Carver Montessori IPS School 87 released a statement exclusively to Angela Ganote.

Corrie Horan wanted to thank the community for its support and express her desire to use what happened to her special needs son to seek school safety reforms.

From her statement:

“Every child deserves to learn in an environment that is safe and nurturing. I am committed to ensuring that the tragedy my child endured serves as a wake-up call for all involved in our education system. It is my deepest hope that this painful episode leads to significant changes that will protect countless other children from ever experiencing similar harm or having to go through what our family did. This is not just about my child; it’s about all the children in our schools.”

Corrie Horan

We first reported the story on April 17, revealing that the family had filed a civil lawsuit against IPS. The lawsuit alleged that the special needs student was beaten in class on multiple occasions. One of those incidents was recorded on a phone by the boy’s teacher, Julious Johnican.

In the footage, Johnican, off camera, was heard encouraging another student to beat the boy. The teacher doesn’t intervene. For weeks, Horan’s son told his mother he was afraid to go to school because he was being beaten and bullied.

Horan told us through her attorneys that she went to the school multiple times to find answers after her son told her about the abuse. She said she was told he was lying.

The boy’s attorneys reiterated they believe this case highlights critical vulnerabilities in Indiana’s educational systems. They are pushing for legislative policy changes including enhanced training for mandatory abuse prevention training and transparent procedures for reporting and handling misconduct allegations.

IPS officials said they reported the abuse to the Department of Child Services as soon as they learned about the video and, by law, did what they were supposed to do. Attorneys for Horan and her son said Horan brought her concerns about Johnican’s conduct to an IPS administrator months before that:

“Our client brought serious concerns regarding Julious Johnican’s classroom to the attention of an IPS school administrator as early as September 2023. Despite this report, our investigation revealed no follow-up was initiated, no contact with the Department of Child Services (DCS) occurred, and classroom supervision remained unchanged. It wasn’t until our client reported the video possessed by Johnican on November 1st, 2023, immediately after seeing it and demanding that DCS and the police be contacted, that the school finally reached out only to DCS. Rather than be terminated Johnican was simply allowed to resign. The situation with IPS is not just about delayed action. As of now, Johnican retains an active teaching license, and no entity, including IPS, has taken any action to attempt to revoke it. Without this crucial step, Johnican is free to teach anywhere in Indiana, posing a potential risk to more students.”

Statement from attorneys

IMPD opened an investigation after FOX59/CBS4 reached out to DCS, the Marion County Prosecutor’s Office and law enforcement.

That investigation is ongoing.

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