The same Marshall County special needs teacher already facing seven charges for allegedly abusing one non-verbal child last September was indicted in early July on eight counts after investigators found more video evidence involving a second student.
Former educator Kiersten Nicole Moses, 23, was initially charged with felony strangulation, two counts of felony assault/battery of a disabled child, and felony child abuse, but early this month the Marshall County Grand Jury returned true bills for four counts of Battery of a Disabled Child, two counts if Maltreatment of a Disabled Child, and single counts for Child Abuse Creating a Substantial Risk of Death or Bodily Harm and Strangulation.
Marshall County Prosecutor Joe Canestraro revealed to LEDE News that the second special needs child is a nine-year-old non-verbal female. The review of hours of video recorded inside a special needs classroom at McNinch Primary School in Moundsville revealed reasons for additional charges to be filed against a former Marshall County educator.
The Prosecutor’s Office was assisted by an employee of the state’s Child Protective Services during the review of the footage. The cameras and recordings are mandated under Article 20: Education for Exceptional Children (§18-20-11).
“It (was) an open-hand slap to the back,” the prosecutor described. “And you’ve got to remember these students are considered disabled children by law, and in this particular classroom, I believe all but one child was nonverbal, and this victim is a nine-year-old female.
“If you watch the video, the little girl knocks a chair over, but it doesn’t appear as if she did it on purpose to cause trouble,” Canestraro said. “And the teacher slaps her in the video.”
Moses is one of three Marshall County Schools educators who are facing charges connected to the alleged abuse. While suspended principal Jane Ann Duffy’s case remains pending in Magistrate Court, suspended administrator Erin Michelle Cuffaro also was indicted by the country’s Grand Jury.
She is charged with nine counts of Child Neglect Creating a Substantial Risk of Death Or Serious Bodily Injury, one count of Child Neglect Resulting in Bodily Injury, two misdemeanors for Failure to Report and False Information to the Dept. of Public Safety.
“Fortunately, the state of West Virginia has these kinds of laws in place to protect our most vulnerable,” Canestraro said. “We did take our time with the video review from the classroom, and that’s because we were being very careful.
“That’s why I felt it was important to work with the individual from CPS,” he said. They are the experts.”
Follow the Facts
An anonymous aide reported an alleged child abuse incident to the State Police in early October 2025, and 1st Sgt. S.M. Durrah launched his investigation on October 8th. He soon found, according to the report, that a video recording of the incident existed. It was not until December 7th, though, that LEDE published all documents connected to Sgt. Durrah’s full review.
The prosecution now alleges the 22-year-old Moses grabbed the nonverbal, special needs student around the neck with both hands and, according to the State Police report, squeezed the child’s neck for a few seconds. The child, Canestraro believes, is now 7 or 8 years old.
“We’ll come back to court this Tuesday for initial appearances and arraignments, and we’ll get a discovery schedule,” Canestraro explained. “There’s a lot of work that’s left to do with the pre-trial proceedings before we can get a trial date for both. But I have been working on my initial discovery disclosure and request for disclosure on the special programs director and the teacher; it’s all ready to be filed.
“And once they make the request for discovery, I’ll file it, and we’ll move forward from there,” he said. “Of course, it depends on what the defendants wish to do on their side, but the prosecution will be ready.”
It was in late May when Canestraro said he expected to file new charges against Moses after the video evidence revealed the same teacher involved in a separate questionable incident with the nine-year-old female.
“I think these cases should remind all of us that if you’re a mandatory reporter, you’d better take it seriously,” the prosecutor said. “We’re very fortunate that our state has the laws we have that protect our most vulnerable citizens like special needs students, and the classroom cameras are a big part of that protection.
“In this case, without the cameras we wouldn’t know about all of the abuse these two students were subjected to,” Canestraro added. “But if this aide didn’t come forward in the first place, the abuse could still be taking place in that classroom.”
