A behavior support teacher is out of a job after being arrested for allegedly assaulting a young student.
Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office say 39-year-old Prechae Rodriguez, a teacher at Eisenhower Exceptional Center, was arrested Monday. They said on Feb. 8, a 9-year-old nonverbal, autistic child was walking out of the gym with Rodriguez and slapped the teacher with his hand. In response, police claim Rodriguez didn’t reprimand him or send him to the principal’s office but instead punched the student in the face, hard enough that the little boy fell to the ground.
The police pulled up to Rodriguez’s home in Sun City Center to place him in cuffs. He was charged with one count of child abuse.
“I am disgusted by the actions of this individual who was not only in a position of authority and trust but was given the responsibility to protect our most vulnerable,” Sheriff Chad Chronister said via WFLA. “No child, under any circumstance, should be subject to this level of violence. There is no place for the abuse of children in our schools or in our community, and our detectives will continue to work to ensure that all of our students are protected.”
Tuesday morning he was released from Hillsborough County Jail after posting a $2,500 bail but returned to more bad news. Upon the incident, he was removed from the school upon the investigation but eventually terminated, according to a spokesperson for Hillsborough County Public Schools, via Tampa Bay Times. Rodriguez had only been working at the school since August.
The last time we witnessed a disturbing scene to this magnitude, a principal in California was charged with “cruelty to a child by endangering health” after a cafeteria camera caught him shoving an autistic student.
Every time these incidents rise, the greater the concern for the safety of students with special needs and behavioral disabilities.