Child abuse case involving former teacher’s aide adjourned
Robin Merle Popour, 54, of Gladstone, appeared in the Delta County 47th Circuit Court Monday. (Sophie Vogelmann | Daily Press)
Robin Merle Popour was arrested in January on one count of third-degree child abuse following a December incident at the Delta Schoolcraft Intermediate School District (DSISD) Learning Center. (Photo courtesy of the Delta County Sheriff's Office)
Robin Merle Popour, 54, of Gladstone, appeared in the Delta County 47th Circuit Court Monday. (Sophie Vogelmann | Daily Press)
Robin Merle Popour was arrested in January on one count of third-degree child abuse following a December incident at the Delta Schoolcraft Intermediate School District (DSISD) Learning Center. (Photo courtesy of the Delta County Sheriff's Office)
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ESCANABA - The child abuse case involving a former teacher’s aide at the Delta Schoolcraft Intermediate School District (DSISD) Learning Center has been adjourned -- for now.
Robin Merle Popour, 54, of Gladstone, appeared in the Delta County 47th Circuit Court Monday, during which Delta County Prosecuting Attorney Lauren Wickman said she recently received a plea offer from Attorney Trenton Stupak, who represents Popour.
The case has been adjourned to allow for time for Wickman to discuss the offer with the family of the special needs student who was allegedly abused by Popour.
Popour was arraigned in March in the Delta County 94th District Court on one count of third-degree child abuse, a felony punishable by two years in prison or probation for up to five years.
The charge stems from an incident that took place on Dec. 17, 2025, when an alleged altercation occurred between Popour and a special needs student.
According to the police report, a Delta County Sheriff’s Office deputy spoke with various staff members at the center on Dec. 19 after being contacted the day prior by the center's principal, Timothy Racicot.
The deputy specifically interviewed three teachers’ aides who were in the classroom at some point during the time of the alleged incident.
The aides reported seeing the student interact inappropriately with a harness in a wooden cubby, to which Popour reportedly said, “I don’t care if he hits me, I am taking his harness.”
Popour allegedly proceeded to take the student’s harness, temporarily resolving the situation.
Sometime later, the student was sitting at their table and began to stand up and sit down repeatedly. An aide told the deputy she told the student to sit down when Popour “interjected herself, yelling at [the student] to sit down.”
The student then began making what was described by multiple aides as pinching motions, but he was not touching anyone. The student allegedly went to pinch at Popour and stood up, at which point Popour “grabbed him and threw [the student] against the window,” said one aide.
According to the report, Popour’s hands were on the student’s biceps. Witnesses reported seeing the student and Popour screaming.
“None of us helped because I’m not going to help you throw a kid up against a wall,” said an aide. “There was no need for her actions, she could [have] easily walked away.”
Another aide reported, “Robin has said many times before, ‘If that kid touches me, I will f***ing hit him back. I don’t care if I lose my job over this.'” The aide added that Popour also said many times throughout the year she “does not like him” and “has no use for that kid.”
The police report further stated, “[Popour] then proceeded to throw [the student] into his nearby chair” and threatened the student to “not touch her or she will slap his hands.”
Popour also allegedly told an aide, “I don’t give a f*** if I left marks on him.”
The report noted the student did not touch Popour until Popour allegedly pushed him up against the window. The classroom’s teacher, Jeffrey Roman, walked into the room and reported seeing the student latching onto Popour’s arms.
“I was shocked because I was just out of the room taking another student to the bathroom for maybe 20 minutes,” Roman told the investigating deputy.
According to DSISD Superintendent Kristina Hansen, she and the center’s administration were notified of the incident Dec. 18. Hansen said the employee was immediately placed on administrative leave pending the investigation.
An administrative investigation was conducted on Dec. 19, and Popour was subsequently terminated.
In the following days after the incident, an aide in the classroom noticed bruise marks on the student where Popour allegedly grabbed him.
Hansen stated, “Based on the investigation, the administrative team determined that the now-former employee failed to meet the professional, safety and conduct expectations required of a staff member and that the now-former employee operated outside of district policy, established procedures and standards established during provided training.”
Popour was released from the Delta County Jail on a $5,000 cash/surety bond on Jan.17. Her final pretrial conference, which constitutes the deadline for plea negotiations, has been scheduled for Sept. 1.
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Sophie Vogelmann can be reached at 906-786-2021 or svogelmann@dailypress.net.