Olivia Murray, a 25-year-old teacher's aide, was arrested and charged with cruelty to children after she was accused of duct-taping a 4-year-old student's legs to a chair. The South Carolina teacher's aide was arrested from her home on Wednesday night.
Incident Happened in the Absence of Teacher
The disturbing incident took place at the Columbia based Seven Oaks Elementary School. The 25-year -old was working as a teacher's aide in a 4K classroom.
According to WJBF, the victim was made to sit in the back of the classroom for flipping around and not listening to instruction. As per the affidavit by the Lexington County Sheriff's Office after the teacher stepped out of the classroom for few minutes, Murray used a green-colored duct tape from the class's cabinet to tie the 4-year-old's legs to the chair.
The affidavit further claimed that the "incident was corroborated by the 4K teacher and a confession from the defendant during a post-Miranda interview."
The incident report further revealed that the child was sent home after a check-up by the school nurse. Speaking to the outlet, Lexington County Sheriff Jay Koon said, "Based on our investigation, Murray, who works as teacher's aide, used duct tape to tape the student's legs to a chair Wednesday while the teacher was out of the classroom. Murray told detectives the student had been moved to the back of the classroom for being disruptive and not listening."
Victim's Mother Allege Child Being Targeted by Teacher's Aide
Speaking to WISTV, the victim's mother, Akira Johnson, claimed that her child , Jason Johnson, was being targeted for a complaint made against Murray. Claiming that the incident came to light after another staff member, who walking by the classroom and saw the child duct taped to a chair, reported the matter to the principal.
"I literally felt like somebody shot me and took all the wind out of my body. It was the worst experience," she said. "From what I'm hearing there were two teachers in the classroom. One left came back and found my son taped to a chair. Evidently, they thought it was a good idea to put him down for a nap after that. "They also found duct tape marks on the chair. She taped him one time and then once he removed, she made him put it back on and then she reinforced it with more duct tape."
Johnson further claimed that her child was being targeted by Murray who often told his elder sister that he was bad. "She also left a note in his folder the day of the incident, which I don't understand, she must start her day off angry, but she left a note saying, you need to teach him how to sit still in a chair," said Johnson.
