LETTER: Teachers' Union Responds To Parent Who Complained (PDF file)

SEMINOLE COUNTY, Fla. -- Channel 9 caught up with a Seminole County teacher accused of abusing autistic students. Thursday, an Eyewitness News crew tracked down teacher Kathy Garrett to find out what her response is to the new allegations of computer porn in her classroom and aides who claim she showed them pictures of herself.

Garrett remained silent in the face of new accusations and three computers now being scoured by Casselberry police. Meanwhile, the school district took the first step toward finding out what may have gone wrong and how parents' complaints about child abuse were seemingly overlooked.

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"The first thing I want to do is meet with the complaining parties, the parents, because I think they need to know that there is an independent investigation going on," says attorney Drew Thomas.

Thomas says he's been hired to interview anyone involved, including administrators that parents have pointed fingers at. They say, long before Garrett's arrest for torturing disabled children, school officials heard repeated complaints.

"If there have been mistakes made by people in a supervisory capacity, we need to know about that," says Thomas.

Thomas says he will also review all files and internal communications concerning the Garrett case, including working with police detectives.

"I believe the school district realizes that some serious problems have arisen here and they want to do what they can to ensure that these kinds of things don't happen again in the future," says Thomas.

What information Garrett herself can provide is still unknown to Thomas.

The biggest difficulty in conducting these interviews is for people like Garrett or possibly her aides, who refuse to answer questions that might incriminate them. There is no timeline for when the investigation might be over.