HENDERSONVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — A George A. Whitten Elementary School special education teacher was arrested and charged with child abuse.
According to Sumner County School officials, 45-year-old April Chandler was suspended without pay pending the outcome of the criminal investigation.
The arrest affidavit said an aide at the school told police Chandler forcefully and angrily grabbed a 5-year-old nonverbal autistic boy, causing him to have scratches and red marks. The witness detailed another incident when Chandler was reading a story to the students as the young boy tried to sit in her lap. The affidavit says Chandler pushed the boy off of her and he fell down.
A second aide told officers Chandler was roughly changing the boy's clothes. When the boy began to cry, she mocked the boy's appearance.
After officers spoke with the school employees, Chandler was arrested on November 18. She has since been released on bond.
Chandler is expected to appear in court on December 11.
