Women beat, restrained teens at special-needs school, cops say

Authorities say two woman abused the special-needs clients in their care — hitting a 14-year-old boy with a belt, and restraining both him and other teen.

Nastassia Hines, 28, of Burlington City, and Mondja Djamba, 28, of Clementon, are both charged with two counts of aggravated assault and one count each of endangering the welfare of a child, unlawful possession of a weapon and possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose.

Djamba is also charged with two counts of kidnapping as well as an additional count of endangering the welfare of a child.

Both are employees of Bancroft, a school for students with special needs

According to the Camden County Prosecutor's Office, the incidents occurred early Dec. 8 at the school's Haddonfield campus. A Bancroft nurse discovered the injuries to one of the victims and immediately notified authorities, the prosecutor's office said.

Surveillance video discovered by investigators shows a 14-year-old boy with special needs being hit with a belt by Hines and Djamba, the prosecutor's office said. The footage shows Djamba forcing and restraining the boy under a desk for an extended period of time.

The video later shows Djamba forcing and restraining a different student, a 19-year-old male with special needs, under a desk for an extended period of time, the prosecutor's office said.

Hines and Djamba were taken into custody yesterday, the prosecutor's office said. Both are being held at the Camden County Jail. Bail was set at $325,000 for Hines and $350,000 of Djamba.

It wasn't immediately clear from information released by authorities what roles Hines and Djamba have at the school.

The Camden County Prosecutor’s Office Special Victims Unit is continuing an investigation to determine whether additional crimes have occurred or other children were victimized, the office said. It said Bancroft has been fully cooperative during the ongoing investigation.

Authorities are asking anyone with information to contact Camden County Prosecutor’s Office Detective Laura Sarnese at (856) 225-8522. Information may also be emailed to ccpotips@ccprosecutor.org.