Norfolk, Va. - A seven-year-old girl told her mother she wanted to die after the girl claims her teacher hit her in front of her classmates last week. The mom, outraged, has now filed assault charges against the teacher.
Verlisa Staley says she learned of the incident after her daughter came home from Campostella Elementary school last Monday with wet pants.
“She said, ‘Momma, she hit me; she made me pee on myself’ and I was like what do you mean she made you pee on yourself?” said Staley. “She said, ‘She hit me Momma, she made the kids in the classroom hit me too.’”
She admits at first the story was too horrendous to believe but Staley says her daughter's accounts were unwavering.
“It was so hard for me to believe that this teacher done this to my daughter because in the beginning I was talking to the teacher. I have her personal phone number. She wouldn`t even answer her phone when all of this came about.”
So Staley took action to find out what happened. She says she called the school and got no response.
The next day she called the school board, but she didn't like their offer of moving her daughter to another class. So she pressed charges on her own with a Norfolk magistrate.
Staley's daughter's story and other witness accounts were enough for the magistrate to find probable cause and issue a warrant for the accused teacher's arrest. Norfolk police say that as of today the warrant hasn't been served. For that reason, we will not release the accused teacher’s name.
Norfolk public schools declined to answer if the teacher was still in the classroom. Spokeswoman Elizabeth Mather said they are investigating. They released this statement, which in part reads:
“Although the school division cannot provide details of investigations involving specific students, Norfolk public schools takes assault allegations and parent concerns seriously and the school division will take appropriate action."
Staley says she's not going to let it go until action is taken.
“They can`t sweep it under the rug,” she says. “This is going to be stuck in her head for the rest of her life.”
