NEW BRITAIN, Conn. -- A New Britain special education teacher has pleaded not guilty to charges she abused autistic children.

Michelle Campbell, 36, had no comment outside New Britain Superior Court Thursday on the charges that she abused children at the Chamberlain School. However, parents of Campbell's alleged victims had a lot to say about the charges brought against the teacher.

"This was putting children in a closet in the dark, holding them in the closet, holding the door, not letting them out," said spokeswoman for the alleged victims' families, Lisa Nkonoki. "Waterboarding if you will -- taking the child, putting water up their nostrils and face so they couldn't breath."

Nkonoki said that Campbell also strapped the children to chairs and yelled in their ears.

The spokesperson said that the allegations were substantiated by the Department of Children and Families, but that the district never notified the families about the allegations.

"I'm angry at the school. I'm angry at the system," said parent Arelis Kinard.

The families said they learned about Campbell's alleged behavior from a paraprofessional in one of the classrooms.

Parent Alertba Marin said that her autistic son, one of the alleged victims, doesn't want to sleep alone in bed any more.

"He doesn’t want to sleep with the light off," she said.

Police said Campbell worked with about 10 autistic kindergartners through second-graders.