A Florida teacher has been charged with child abuse after allegedly striking a 5-year-old student in the face with a ruler, according to multiple reports.
On Thursday, Jan. 9, Miami Gardens police charged Chrishawn Nicholson with child abuse in connection with the alleged incident, which occurred in November 2024, according to NBC 6 South Florida, CBS News, and WSVN.
The alleged incident occurred at Aspire Preparatory Academy. According to police documents, Nicholson, 25, initially called the student’s mother and informed her that her son had been playing with a pencil and had “gotten cut near his brow.”
After taking her son to the hospital for stitches, medical staff informed her that his injury was not caused by a pencil. The boy told his mother on his way to the hospital that Nicholson “hit him with a ruler,” according to reports.
The mother then reported the incident to the Florida Department of Children and Families, which contacted child protective services to assess the situation. CBS News reported that the boy repeated his accusations to investigators and demonstrated how Nicholson allegedly hit him.
According to CBS News and WSVN, the mother also gave police a video of her son telling her that he had been hit with a ruler.
Nicholson eventually turned herself in on January 9. She was arrested and taken to Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center, according to reports.
A prosecutor claimed in court on Jan. 10 that there is video of Nicholson referring to the child and saying, “I did pop him,” according to NBC 6 South Florida.
According to WSVN, Miami-Dade Circuit Judge Mindy S. Glazer told Nicholson in court, “I’m not going to order her that she can’t work in her profession, because this could be an isolated incident.”
“No matter how frustrated you are, you should not take it out on that child, because it could have been his eye; it was so close. Then he would have gone blind for the rest of his life. Then what? She continued.
Nicholson was ordered to stay away from the child, according to CBS News.
The Miami Gardens Police Department and Aspire Preparatory Academy did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment on Sunday, January 12.
If you suspect child abuse, contact the Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline at 1-800-4-A-Child or 1-800-422-4453, or visit www.childhelp.org. All calls are toll-free and confidential. The hotline is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week in over 170 languages.