Kindergarten student was taped to chair and a teacher’s aide is in jail, SC cops say
A woman is in jail after taping a kindergarten student to a chair, the Lexington County Sheriff’s Department said Thursday.
Olivia Michelle Murray, a 25-year-old Columbia resident, was charged with cruelty to children, the sheriff’s department said in a news release. Murray is no longer employed by Lexington-Richland 5, a spokeswoman told The State.
The incident happened Wednesday at Seven Oaks Elementary School, where Murray worked as a teacher’s aide, according to the release. The Lexington-Richland 5 school is on Ashland Road, near the intersection with St. Andrews Road and about half a mile from Exit 106 on Interstate 26.
Murray used duct tape to confine the 4K student’s legs to a chair, Sheriff Jay Koon said. The incident happened while the teacher was out of the classroom, according to Koon.
“Murray told detectives the student had been moved to the back of the classroom for being disruptive and not listening,” Koon said in the release.
Information on the student’s condition was not available.
Murray was arrested at her home on Wednesday night and was taken to the Lexington County Detention Center, according to the release.
She remained behind bars Thursday, and no bond had been set at of 11:15 a.m., jail records show.
Lexington-Richland 5 said it works “hard to ensure a safe learning environment at our schools and work closely with law enforcement to make safety our top priority.”
The school district said it’s working with law enforcement in the ongoing investigation and had no further comment.
If convicted on the misdemeanor charge, Murray faces a maximum punishment of 30 days in jail, according to South Carolina law.
This is a developing story, check back for updates.
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This story was originally published March 2, 2023 at 11:23 AM.
