NEW YORK (AP) - The principal of a Harlem charter school has been arraigned for allegedly assaulting a 7-year-old student.
The boy’s mother, Patricia Laforey, received a video chat from the school claiming that her son had run into a door Jan. 24, New York Daily News reported.
Laforey said that the story of how her son, who attends Harlem Hebrew Language Academy, was injured kept changing and struck her as “a huge red flag.”
“I want the truth to be told,” Laforey told the newspaper. “It’s not right what happened. It has to stop happening to kids. These are kids who are taken advantage of.”
A video of the incident was later discovered by school officials who then handed it over to police. Authorities arrested Jason Epting, who is the principal of the charter school. He was later charged with felony assault and acting in a manner injurious to a child.
Police said Epting, 43, can be seen on the video hitting the boy in the head with a bathroom door. Epting has been on administrative leave since the incident and was released on bail following a Thursday arraignment.
Martin Druyan, Epting’s lawyer, contests that it was an accident.
Scott Rynecki, the family’s lawyer, said the family wants to see this “prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.”
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