Elementary School Principal Caught On Camera Whacking 6-Year-Old Student

A Clewiston school principal—who’s currently under investigation for dishing out corporal punishment—might face serious consequences if proven guilty of aggravated battery of a minor.

Central Elementary School Principal Melissa Carter was captured on camera, brutally hitting a six-year-old child with a paddle. The entire act of abuse was secretly captured by the student’s mother who was at Carter’s office at the time of the abuse. Given there were no CCTV’s around, recording the harrowing incident on her mobile phone was the only recourse. Further probe into the case is underway by the Department of Children and Families too.

“The hatred with which she hit my daughter, I mean it was a hatred that, really I’ve never hit my daughter like she hit her,” the mother told WINK News in Spanish, as cited on Winknews.com. “I had never hit her,” she added. The identities of the child and the mother remain undisclosed in a bid to protect their privacy.

The incident occurred on April 13, when she was summoned to her daughter’s school after the latter was accused of causing damage to a computer. A fine of $50 was levied for the offense, for which the mother turned up to pay. Upon entering the principal’s office, she found her daughter already present in the room, much to her horror.

“My daughter was already in the office,” said the woman in the exclusive interview, adding, “The principal started to scream.”

The woman looked around and began to get worked up as she sensed something wasn’t right. “There are no cameras,” she said. “What are we doing in this place? My daughter and I, alone.”

So, she went ahead with her sole source of proof: She hid her phone in her purse and set it to record.“Nobody would have believed me,” the mother said. “I sacrificed my daughter, so all parents can realize what’s happening in this school,” she maintained, as reported in Fox News.

As per the news report; the family’s lawyer, Brent Probinsky, said Clewiston police have turned over the investigation to the State Attorney’s Office for the 20th Judicial Circuit, which includes Hendry County. Probinsky reportedly averred that the state attorney’s office is deciding whether they will bring criminal charges against Carter and Cecilia Self, a clerk at the school who was also present in the video.

Probonsky termed the horrifying incident as a clear instance of “aggravated battery”. “They’re using a weapon that can cause severe physical, harm. The child is terrified, she feels vulnerable. There’s nothing she can do in the hands of these adults, who treated her so brutally, savagely, sadistically,” he added.

Carter and the Henry County School District remained unavailable for comment. Hendry County School District policy does not permit corporal punishment, with a policy that categorically specifies that it does not encourage any procedure that demeans students. It states: “The superintendent shall designate sanctions for the infractions of rules, excluding corporal punishment.”