In Riverdale, a town in northwestern Ohio, a teacher was captured on video abusing a kindergartner who was returning from the bathroom. She pinned him to the wall, took his face in her hands, and lifted him up by his shirt so that his head snapped back and hit the wall.
Anthony and Autumn Nelson’s six-year-old son Ian was walking back from the bathroom last Wednesday when his teacher, Barb Williams, caught on a surveillance camera, accosted him.
Anthony Nelson, who told WTKR that Ian had a bruise on the back of his head, said: “We thought it was just a little incident that happened, and that’s what the school made it out to sound like. And then all of a sudden we get this video today and this is just outrageous.”
Six days later, Riverdale Superintendent Eric Hoffman wrote a letter telling Williams that she was suspended for ten days without pay. He wrote, “Your repeated use of physical force was completely unwarranted and unprofessional.” He added that any future trouble would result in her termination.
But the Nelsons want Williams fired, and they are going to bring the video to the Hancock County Sheriff’s office to have criminal charges brought against her.
Ian is now in a different kindergarten class, but the Nelsons are worried about the ongoing emotional effect this will have on their son. Autumn Nelson said worriedly, “He’s scared of her. Even going to the school next year or the year after, he will still have to see her if she is present in the building. That’s probably going to scare him.”
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