Trigger warning: This article includes information of child abuse that readers may find upsetting.
A Florida preschool instructor is facing criminal charges after severely beating a 4-year-old child. Ashley Richards, 32, was arrested on Wednesday and charged with third-degree child abuse.
According to a news statement from the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office, a witness heard cries coming from the playground of KinderCare Learning Center in Dunedin, Florida. The cops responded to a witness’s report soon before 1 p.m. on August 10.
It was discovered during the continuing inquiry that the witness saw the instructor “screaming at the victim and repeatedly hitting the kid with both an open and closed fist to the back and side of the head.”
The witness reportedly witnessed the instructor “pulling the youngster to the ground and saying ‘Do you want me to hit you?'” He then videotaped the entire episode.
According to an arrest document, Richards is shown pulling the boy over her knees and striking him while the youngster screams in the video, which authorities saw.
According to the affidavit, the 4-year-old kid indicated in an interview with investigators that he was arguing with his sibling when the instructor pulled him up and began yelling at him. When the authorities interrogated Richards, she denied assaulting or beating the youngster.
Since March 2021, Richards has worked as a preschool teacher at KinderCare Learning Center. As a result of the event, she has been placed on Administrative Leave.
Colleen Moran, public relations manager at KinderCare stated that the teacher’s claimed acts do not represent who they are or the training they offer their instructors. They’re collaborating with the cops to figure out what occurred. Meanwhile, the instructor in question is on administrative leave until further notice.
On Thursday, a dad bringing up his children from preschool told them that he was as surprised as everyone else. It’s terrible. He is not aware of every aspect. The parent expressed gratitude for living in a “country where there is due process,” as well as for the childcare worker’s ability to “stand trial and argue her case.” The father, who requested anonymity, stated, he never had a negative contact before. She’d always been courteous to him and his family, especially his kids.
