A teacher at Wadsworth Elementary in Bunnell, Florida, has been arrested after allegedly pinning a six-year-old student with a disability against a wall during a classroom incident.
Kevin Adkisson, 52, was arrested on Thursday, 22 October, and charged with two counts of child abuse without great bodily harm, according to the Flagler County Sheriff’s Office. He was released on a $5,000 bond.
The allegations relate to an incident on 16 October. A paraprofessional told investigators that Adkisson forcefully grabbed the child by the arm and later restrained him behind a desk, restricting his movement.
The witness said she heard the child crying and saying that Adkisson was hurting him and that he could not breathe. The teacher eventually released the child, told him he was not hurt and walked away, according to the sheriff’s office.
The student also told detectives that, during a separate incident, Adkisson allegedly struck both sides of his stomach with closed hands, picked him up and moved him to the back of a queue after he skipped ahead of classmates.
The paraprofessional reported the classroom encounter to school administrators, who escorted Adkisson from the campus and notified the child’s parents and Florida’s Department of Children and Families. Adkisson declined to speak to detectives during the investigation.
Flagler Schools superintendent LaShakia Moore said the district was investigating and co-operating with authorities. Sheriff Rick Staly said staff working with children with additional needs must “always keep their cool” and that abuse by a trusted adult would not be tolerated.
The arrest is the second involving a Flagler County school employee accused of harming a child with additional needs within a week. A substitute teacher at Matanzas High School was arrested days earlier after allegedly kicking a student with disabilities.
Adkisson’s lawyer, Josh Davis, has disputed the charges and said his client expects to be found innocent. The allegations have not been tested in court.
