Port Huron teacher pleads guilty to assaulting students

A 59-year-old Marysville woman who taught early childhood special education students at Thomas Edison Elementary School has pleaded guilty to assault and battery charges related to two students.

Shirley Thoen, a 36-year employee of the school district, was arraigned on and pleaded guilty to two counts of assault and battery Thursday.

The offenses are 93-day misdemeanors, Senior Assistant Prosecutor Mona Armstrong said.

Tracie Eschenburg, executive director of employee and student services for Port Huron Schools, said the school district began receiving complaints about Thoen in September.

Eschenburg said the allegations involved general mistreatment in the classroom. A more detailed explanation of Thoen's charges was not immediately available Tuesday.

The St. Clair County Sheriff Department was contacted in September and investigated the complaints.

Eschenburg said Thoen was put on leave Oct. 30.

"She was placed on leave as soon as there was any actionable information that we had," Eschenburg said. "And that was immediate."

She added that parents knew Thoen was on leave, but did not know the reason for the absence.

Thoen retired from her position after her guilty plea Thursday.

Eschenburg said investigators and school officials met with parents of Thoen's students Tuesday evening.

"We take the safety of our students as paramount and any time we feel there is a threat of safety we act immediately," Eschenburg said.

Thoen will be sentenced Jan. 14 in front of District Judge John Monaghan.

Her bond was set for $500.

When reached by phone Tuesday, Thoen declined to comment.

Contact Beth LeBlanc at (810) 989-6259 or eleblanc@gannett.com. Follow her on Twitter @THBethLeBlanc. Reporter Liz Shepard contributed to this report.