Wyoming Teacher Charged In Connection With Fifth Grader's Suicide Pleads Not Guilty

A Cheyenne elementary school teacher accused of leaving an 11-year-old boy unattended at school, contributing to his suicide, pleaded not guilty Thursday.  

Amelia Giordano, who is 31 this year, appeared Thursday morning in Cheyenne Circuit Court alongside her attorney, Mary Ames.  

She pleaded not guilty to the misdemeanor charge of child endangering, punishable by up to a year in jail and $1,000 in fines.  

The Circuit Court judge allowed Giordano to remain free on a recognizance bond, or promise that she’ll appear at her Nov. 2 scheduling conference and all future hearings, and ordered she will have no contact with the boy’s family.  

The boy, Paul Pine, was one month shy of 12 years old when he hanged himself in the bathroom at Carpenter Elementary on Jan. 9, the Wyoming Tribune Eagle reported.  

Pine had been making suicidal statements, including that he would hang himself in the school bathroom, the outlet related from an interview with Pine’s mother.  

There was reportedly a plan in place instructing teachers not to let students go to the bathroom without supervision.  

Giordano’s case is ongoing.  

Clair McFarland can be reached at clair@cowboystatedaily.com.