Published Wednesday, Feb. 13, 2019 | 6:26 p.m.
Updated Wednesday, Feb. 13, 2019 | 8:36 p.m.
Marcel Chappuis
Patricia Chappuis
Investigators found that students at an embattled boarding school in Amargosa Valley were not provided adequate water to drink and wash, while staff were instructed to cook with tap water that was contaminated, according to the Nye County Sheriff’s Office.
The accusations landed the owners of Northwest Academy — Patricia Chappuis and Marcel Chappuis, 72 — in jail on dozens of child endangerment counts. They were arrested early Wednesday in a northwest Las Vegas residential neighborhood.
Patricia Chappuis is facing two additional felony counts of child abuse for alleged physical altercations with students, said Sgt. Adam Tippetts in a video briefing.
Officials probing abuse allegations in late January found that the water at the boarding school for at-risk youth was contaminated and out of compliance. A teacher, Caleb Hill, 29, was taken into custody for allegedly picking up and slamming a student.
Several students were determined to have suffered injuries, including broken bones — “generally toes” — at the hands of staff, Tippetts said. State officials determined that the school stopped treating the water in October 2016.
It wasn’t clear when the school was ordered to provide bottled water, but investigators found that students weren’t given enough of it — if any at all, Tippetts said. Sometimes they would run out of the bottles for up to three days, including in the hot summer months.
So they drank tap water, which was also used to serve medications, and for cooking, per Patricia Chappuis’ order, Tippetts said.
Large but empty water containers were brought into the kitchen, but they were apparently for show, since staff were told to tell anyone who asked that the water had been used to cook, Tippetts said.
As the water was deemed out of compliance, state officials in early 2018 began working with the school to bring it back to safe levels, Tippetts said.
The school had until Dec. 31 to fix the problem, but during testing in November, experts detected water with arsenic more than three times the standard figure, Tippets said.
During the abuse investigation, several students were found to have skin rashes, Tippetts said. Yet the school was deemed safe to remain open.
But now officials reportedly want the children moved to other facilities. A division official didn’t immediately respond to messages from The Associated Press.
The male suspect was being held at the Clark County Detention Center on 43 counts of allowing child abuse, neglect or endangerment, all gross misdemeanors, Las Vegas Justice Court records show. It wasn’t clear where Patricia Chappuis was jailed, but she faces similar charges.
