A Florida elementary school teacher has been arrested after she allegedly held a three-year-old autistic child in chokehold between her legs.
Vilma Otero, 59, has been charged with child abuse after a paraeducator witnessed the incident in her classroom at Forest Lake Elementary School in Volusia County.
The paraeducator told deputies that Otero was reading to the children when she heard the boy scream and cry.
As she looked around the room, the witness saw the student ‘between her legs being held down in a choke hold manner’, according to the arrest affidavit obtained by Law&Crime.
The report stated that the young child’s face was ‘turning red as he was crying and screaming while attempting to free himself from Otero’s legs’.
The horrified witness was able to capture a picture of the moment, which she later submitted to the police.
Deputies reportedly also spoke to the victim who told them he got into trouble and that ‘she hurt me’. They also found slight redness on the child’s neck.
According to Fox35, the accused denied restraining the boy in the manner of a chokehold, even after being shown the photo.
She was taken to the Volusia County jail and has since been placed on administrative leave.
In a statement, Volusia County Schools said: Volusia County Schools is aware of the recent arrest of a Forest Lake Elementary teacher. VCS is committed to the safety and well-being of all of our students and is taking this situation very seriously.
‘As such, our Professional Standards department is currently conducting a thorough investigation to determine the appropriate next steps. The teacher is currently on administrative leave.’
Otero has been a teacher for the past 36 years and deals mostly with special needs children.