Mother Accuses School of Negligence After Students Fall Ill from Candy Given by Teacher with Prior Allegations

Playa del Carmen, Quintana Roo — The mother of a student who fell ill after allegedly eating candy distributed by a teacher at a local secondary school has accused school authorities of negligence and raised concerns about the educator’s prior misconduct allegations.

Perla, whose daughter attends Luz María Zaleta Technical Secondary School No. 36, said three students became sick after consuming an orange candy given by teacher Rubén “N.” She claimed the school delayed notifying parents about the girls’ worsening condition.

“They told us that after the 4 p.m. recess, the girls started feeling unwell. They didn’t give us a clear warning and only notified us at 6:50 p.m. that my daughter was in severe pain at school. That’s all they said,” Perla stated.

Upon arriving at the school, Perla said other students told her the teacher wouldn’t let the affected girls leave. She and another parent then sought permission from the principal, who authorized the girls to receive medical attention.

Perla described her daughter’s symptoms as paleness, foaming vomit, dizziness, and an inability to stand. She added that a paramedic who initially treated the girl suggested the symptoms resembled intoxication from a cannabis-based substance.

“They have food poisoning, but they haven’t been able to identify what substance harmed the girls. A forensic analysis will tell us if there was some type of poison in those candies that made them sick like this,” she said.

Perla also revealed that the teacher had previously faced sexual harassment allegations at another school. “It’s a case where it was proven a student was harassed by the teacher, and he was removed from there. And then he was placed in another area, and look where we are now. If he already had harassment allegations, why was he relocated to another school? That’s the problem. Right now they are supporting us and paid for everything, but the damage is already done,” she said.

According to Perla, her daughter recounted that the teacher asked for her Instagram account to see her photos before giving her the candy, which the girl described as having a bitter taste and containing something inside. Perla noted that her daughter’s grades subsequently improved from 6 to 9.

Perla has called on authorities to investigate the incident and determine responsibility.