JACKSON, Miss. –
The father of a Smith Elementary School student has filed a simple assault charge against a teacher accusing her of holding his 8-year-old daughter’s head underwater.
Kaylan Owen, 8, said the incident happened at the school Feb. 17.
“I turned on the water to wash my hands and my assistant teacher, Ms. Levy said, ‘Girl, you getting on my nerves.’ She started to put my head under the water and the water kept getting higher and higher. I couldn't breathe and I started coughing and then she held my head up from under the water and she slammed me into the file cabinet and I felt really sad,” Kaylan said.
Kaylan said Betty Levy was upset with her because she got out of her seat without permission.
Kaylan’s father, Robert Owen, said Levy apologized and the principal told him a letter of reprimand was put in Levy’s file, but Owen wants the teacher fired.
“Basically, they're giving me the run-around,” Owen said. “They said they talked to the students and none of the kids said it happened, but I spoke to one of the kids in front of her parents and she said she saw this.”
Jackson Public Schools officials said that student safety is always a top priority.
“We take all allegations seriously, and we conduct thorough investigations into all allegations. The district is following its usual procedure by conducting a thorough investigation of this allegation. Employee and student confidentiality rights prohibit us from discussing any of the specifics of the investigation,” JPS officials said in a statement to 16 WAPT News.
“I just want her held accountable for what she did. If she's doing this, she might do it again to other students,” Owen said. “If I did this, my child would be taken from me, and I'm going to jail.”
JPS would not allow 16 WAPT News to speak to Levy or the school's principal.
Jackson Police Department spokesman Officer Joseph Daughtry said any time charges are filed against a teacher who is accused of doing something while on duty, that person has a probable cause hearing. That means a judge will decide if there is enough evidence to make an arrest.
