BEAUMONT, Texas (AP) — A high school teacher in Southeast Texas has been arrested on an assault charge after a video surfaced showing her repeatedly striking a student in her class.
The cellphone video shows the teacher at a Beaumont high school swiping papers off the student’s desk then slapping him five times. The geometry instructor, who appears exasperated, scolds the student for being a disruption.
The Beaumont school district said in a statement that the teacher was arrested Friday and placed on leave. Officials say the district “does not condone employees abusing any child.”
Sixty-three-year-old Mary Hastings was booked into the Jefferson County jail on a misdemeanor count of assault. She posted $2,500 bond and was later freed.
A phone listing for her could not be found to offer comment on the charge.
Copyright 2016 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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