A school official has been imprisoned for allegedly orchestrating a child fight club. Mary Tracy Morrison, aged 51, the owner and director of the Delta Institute for the Developing Brain and the Engage program in Jonesboro, Arkansas, admitted guilt on Monday to charges of permitting child abuse and contributing to the delinquency of juveniles. This followed her arrest in April 2025 when a parent informed the authorities that her child was being mistreated at the school.
Incriminating video evidence, obtained through a search warrant, showed Morrison instructing a child to sit in the middle of a circle formed by 18 other students while she and the students surrounded the child. Morrison directed the students to physically harm the child, and the incident involved hitting, kicking, and choking the victim, as stated in court documents.
Following the violent episode that lasted 30 minutes, Morrison praised the student’s actions and instructed the victim to apologize to the other students. She also prohibited the pupils from discussing the incident further. Morrison received a 30-day jail sentence, 120 days of house arrest with electronic monitoring, and nine years of probation. Additionally, she was barred from working with children professionally, required to undergo a mental health evaluation, and had to surrender her occupational therapy license.
Three other school employees, Michael Bean, Kristen Bell, and Katherine Lipscomb, were also arrested in connection with the abuse allegations. The documentation revealed that these employees witnessed the abuse but failed to intervene. Lipscomb’s bond was set at $100,000 (£73,500), while Bean and Bell’s bonds were set at $10,000 (£7,350), with orders not to contact the school or its students.
