Teacher arrested for putting student with autism in ‘chokehold’ during storytime
The child was crying and screaming while trying to free himself
A Florida teacher was arrested after allegedly putting an autistic 3-year-old in a chokehold during class in a shocking scene.
In a bizarre event, a photo was taken by another teacher who works in the classroom of the alleged incident.
Vilma Oteria, 59, was arrested on August 24 by the Volusia County Sheriff’s Office on a charge of child abuse without great bodily harm, according to records.
The alleged incident took place during school time at Forest Lake Elementary School in Deltona.
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Otero is a special needs teacher at the school and has been working with children for over 36 years.
The arrest report indicated that another teacher saw the incident while Otero was reading during children’s story time.
Initially, the other teacher is believed to have been setting up the next activity on the other side of the classroom while story time was going on. She turned around after hearing one of the children start to scream and cry.
The report stated: "She observed Otero sitting in a chair with [the child] between her legs being held down in a choke hold manner.
"[The child] was in distress and was attempting to escape from the position Otero had put him in.
"His face was turning red as he was crying and screaming while attempting to free himself from Otero's legs,
The other teacher took multiple photos and recognized the boy was trying to free himself. The report did not indicate how the child escaped the hold or for how long the child was in this position.
Deputies attempted to speak with the boy after the alleged incident however he wasn’t able to give much detail, stating only that he got in trouble at school and that his teacher ‘hurt him’.
Authorities did notice that there was a slight redness on the boy’s neck.
Otero denied physically restraining the boy and continued to do so even after being shown the pictures that were taken by the other teacher.
Otero was booked into jail and later released.
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."
Gerrard Kaonga