NYE COUNTY (KTNV) — An Amargosa Valley boarding school remains open as the Nye County Sheriff's Office investigates reports of abuse at the school.
Caleb Hill, 29, is the man at the center of the investigation and he is out on bail.
“They weren't there at the scene. So they just hear what other people tell them, and their story is no more accurate than any other witnesses," said attorney Thomas Gibson.
Gibson, who is representing Hill, says the state will have a hard time proving its case against his client, despite the serious allegations.
According to the sheriff's office, detectives interviewed a 14-year-old former Northwest Academy student after reportedly being picked up off the ground and thrown to the floor.
Multiple students told deputies about alleged force used by Hill.
It's not the only incident.
13 Action News looked through page after page of yearly and bi-yearly reports from the Division of Public and Behavioral Health on Northwest Academy.
A January 2017 report found "based on the staff report; handcuffs have been used to manage students behavior."
Northwest denied it, responding by saying "staff …does not use any mechanical restraint."
Then in June of 2018, the facility failed to report a case of suspected child abuse to the division of child care licensing, and when an accident or injury occurred, which required emergency professional medical care of the child, the facility failed to report the occurrence."
The school responded to both, saying "an incident reporting policy manual is close to being completed and distributed."
13 Action News looked into what parents can do to check a school's rating before enrolling their son or daughter, but the Nevada School Performance Framework only shows ratings for public schools.
Hill is expected to make his preliminary hearing next month.
