Update: Charge dismissed in alleged assault of Midlands student during gym class
(Editor’s note: According to state records, the charges in this case were dismissed in March 2022 after the teacher completed a pre-trial intervention program.)
A teacher at a Lexington 1 school has been charged with assault after allegedly grabbing a child by the hair and pulling them during a gym class.
Lexington County Sheriff Department said in a release late Friday it had charged Beechwood Middle School teacher Christine Marie Rivers, 51, with third-degree assault and battery. She is set to appear in a Lexington court on Dec. 1.
Meanwhile, the school district has placed Rivers on administrative leave, it announced Friday night.
“The safety of our students is our top priority,” district spokeswoman Kathryn McPhail said in a statement. “The school is cooperating fully with law enforcement on this investigation.”
Lexington Sheriff Jay Koon said the investigation began Friday afternoon.
“The teacher reached out to the school resource officer at Beechwood Middle School Friday afternoon to share that an incident happened between she and a student during class,” Koon said in a release. “The SRO then notified school administrators and began a review of security cam video.”
On the video, a student is seen reportedly not doing their exercises during gym class.
“Rivers can be seen in the video walking over to the student, grabbing his hair and pulling him to a different spot on the gym floor as he moved along on his hands and knees,” the sheriff said.
Rivers let go of the student’s hair and continued to lead the class in the exercise, according to the release.
Rivers reportedly told the school deputy she called the student’s mother to tell her about the incident and apologize. The mother wanted to pursue charges in the case, the sheriff’s department said.
This story was originally published November 6, 2021 at 8:13 AM.
