Teaching children with different abilities and needs is a challenge that not every teacher is equipped to handle. Even the teachers who choose to teach neurodiverse students may not always be the best equipped to manage the situations that could arise in their classrooms. But it is still their job to take care of things in a way that isn't harmful to their students.
A Florida teacher apparently missed this memo, and decided to use an unconventional method of discipline with a young student. Unfortunately for her, she was caught by a fellow educator, and is now facing child abuse charges for her actions.
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The teacher allegedly put the young student in a chokehold in the classroom.
Vilma Otero, 59, a special needs teacher at Forest Lake Elementary School in Deltona, Florida, is facing child abuse charges after the paraeducator who worked alongside her in her classroom said she saw Otero place a 3-year-old student with autism in a headlock with her legs in the classroom.
The paraeducator filed a report with the Florida Department of Children and Families, according to an arrest affidavit reported by news affiliate WFLA.
The paraeducator took a photo of Otero and the child.
According to WFLA, the paraeducator told Volusia County deputies that she was setting up another activity in the classroom when she heard a child "start to scream and cry" from the other side of the room where the class was having story time. When she turned around, she saw Otero sitting in a chair with her legs around the child in a "chokehold." The boy's face was red from screaming and crying as he tried to free himself.
The deputies said the paraeducator took pictures, showing "Otero’s legs and feet placed on both sides of [the child’s] neck appearing to hold him in place on his back, while Otero continues reading to other children in the classroom."
The child was able to to explain that Otero 'hurt' him.
WESH 2 reported that the Volusia County Sheriff’s Office was able to contact the child's family after the DCF report was filed. The police also talked to the child. Because of his age and the fact that he has autism, authorities shared that they weren't able to communicate with him much. But he was able to tell them that he "got in trouble at school," and that "she hurt me."
The deputies also noted that they saw slight redness on the child's neck.
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There was enough evidence to arrest Otero.
After speaking with the boy and his parents, deputies went to speak with Otero. According to the affidavit, she told them she had been a teacher for 36 years, with the "majority of her experience working with special needs children," WFLA reported. She also apparently told the authorities that she had received special training for teaching children with special needs.
According to the arrest report, Otero denied restraining the child the way she did, even after being shown pictures taken by the paraeducator. But due to the marks observed on the boy by the deputies, and the paraeducator telling them the child tried to escape, the sheriff's office said there was probable cause to arrest Otero. Otero is facing a felony charge of child abuse without great bodily harm.
If you suspect child abuse, you can call the Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline at 1-800-422-4453 (1-800-4-A-Child), or go to Childhelp.org. The hotline is available 24/7.
