Child cruelty and battery charges against a Redwood City special education teacher were dropped Thursday after the aides who had originally accused her changed their statements, according to San Mateo County prosecutors.

Alexia Alika Bogdis, 44, a teacher at Roosevelt Elementary School, was arrested in February 2012 after aides accused her of slapping a student, twisting a student's wrist and kicking the back of a chair, causing it to hit a student.

Ms. Bogdis, a Millbrae resident, was also accused of depriving a child of food. The two children in question were 4-year-old autistic boys, according to police and prosecutors.

District Attorney Steve Wagstaffe said the charges were dropped Thursday due to insufficient evidence after the aides, who had been given immunity, backed off their original statements. The children, due to their age and condition, were considered unable to make statements in the case.

Ms. Bogdis had been out of custody on $15,000 bail at the time the charges were dismissed.

She was placed on paid administrative leave along with six other employees at the Redwood City School District after the allegations came to light on Feb. 1, 2012.

Eight employees were initially put on leave, but in a letter to parents in the district, Superintendent Jan Christensen later wrote that a review of the case indicated "six people knew of possible abuse and did not meet their legal obligation to report it."

— Bay City News Service

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