Middle school employee accused of striking student with disabilities

WINTER SPRINGS, Fla. (WFLA) — A middle school employee is facing child abuse charges after deputies said a female employee struck a student who has disabilities.

Cheryl Andrews, 69, of Palm Coast, who is an employee at Indian Trails Middle School, was caught on the school's CCTV camera approaching the nonverbal child in the cafeteria and striking him.

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The video showed the student rubbing the back of his head and pointing at Andrews. According to the Flagler County Sheriff's Office, Andrews went back to the student, "aggressively" shoved his head, and pulled his head back towards her while putting her hand around his face.

Officials said Andrews was immediately put on suspension when the school district was notified of the incident, which occurred on Sept. 25.

During an investigation, a witness told detectives that Andrews is "very aggressive towards all the students."

She admitted to detectives that she struck the child unprovoked, claiming that she "didn't know why she did that."

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"School employees have a difficult job in today's environment, but this was an unprovoked assault, and the school district took immediate action to safeguard students from this aggressive employee," Sheriff Rick Staly said. "We will not tolerate attacks on a student regardless of who commits it. The District and the Sheriff's Office are committed to ensuring a safe learning environment for everyone."

Andrews was arrested for child abuse without great bodily harm and was later released on bond. During her first appearance on Friday, a judge ordered her to not have any contact with anyone under the age of 18.