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.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.