Amy Jones, 23, told police she “just wanted to f–k around” after being caught impersonating a substitute teacher at her former Milwaukee high school, according to court documents.
Jones conned her way into Rufus King High School on Sept. 24, slipping through because actual substitutes were working that day to cover absent teachers, the documents state. She managed to last three full periods before students reported her to school officials, who escorted her off the premises.
During those classes, she divided students “by race and gender” and deployed “profane language” and “racial slurs,” prosecutors wrote in court documents. She called white students “motherf–kers,” labeled one student “a fat boy,” and asked another whether they wanted to be “a stripper or a hooker,” according to the filings.
She also allegedly bragged about having “felonies” while telling children it was acceptable to go to jail.
When police questioned Jones six days later, she was “very excited” while recounting her actions, “snapping her fingers and dancing,” officers reported. She claimed she actually hated kids and “just wanted to f–k around,” according to documents.
Her attorney, Michael Cerniglia, pointed to mental health struggles as the driver behind the episode. “Miss Jones manages bipolar disorder and was experiencing an acute manic episode caused by delayed home prescription delivery. So, she was off her meds during the time,” he said during her first court appearance Tuesday.
Jones faces charges of impersonating a public employee and five counts of exposing children to harmful descriptions, carrying a potential sentence of 21 years if convicted.
Doreen Badillo, the school’s principal, acknowledged that staff “did not follow proper district protocol in validating the individual as a substitute teacher.”
“This should happen every time a substitute visits a school. There is no excuse for it not occurring, and we take this matter seriously,” Badillo said, calling the incident “disturbing.”
“We are already in the process of reviewing our safeguards to ensure an incident like this never happens again.”
Jones’s first court appearance took place Tuesday.