TEXARKANA, Texas–A former Texarkana Texas Independent School District substitute teacher is facing five felony counts of injury to a child involving five autistic and non-verbal kindergarten-age children whom she allegedly slapped, yanked, screamed at, and pinned to the wall with a desk in 55 minutes of classroom video.
Lecordrette Benton, 36, was reportedly working as a substitute Nov. 14 when she allegedly abused four boys and a girl at Parks Elementary in Texarkana, Texas, according to a probable cause affidavit signed by Texarkana Texas Police Department Det. Casey Schmidt.
“After reviewing the video, I counted approximately 36 times that I observed Benton hit one of these children,” the investigator’s affidavit said. “This count includes Benton hitting the children on the face, arms, hands or legs. This count does not include the many times Benton is seen forcefully grabbing these children by their arms and throwing them around as if they are ragdolls.”
Staff at TISD contacted Child Protective Services after reviewing the classroom video at a parent’s request, the affidavit said. The video reviewed by police begins at approximately 1:13 p.m. and ends at 2:08 p.m. on Nov. 14, when a teacher enters the room and Benton’s demeanor changes, the affidavit said.
During the time period that the children were allegedly abused, a paraprofessional was allegedly present in the classroom with Benton.
Benton allegedly grabbed the children and forcefully yanked them into chairs, causing them to cry in pain. She allegedly pinned one boy between a desk and a wall as he sat in a chair on two occasions during the video.
When the boy attempted to free himself by crawling, Benton allegedly forced his body back into the chair.
After slapping one boy on the leg, Benton allegedly said, “I hope that stings.”
Benton allegedly screamed so loudly at a girl in the classroom that the sound was distorted in the recording, the affidavit said.
Benton allegedly said things like, “Imma hit you dead in yo mouth,” and, “I’m fixin’ to hit you,” to the disabled youngsters.
“These children are not able to vocalize or report the abuse they have sustained from Benton, but the emotional and physical reactions observed in the video would lead a reasonable person to believe that the actions from Benton caused them pain,” the affidavit said.
Benton faces up to ten years in prison on each of the five counts of injury to a child or disabled person, if convicted.
Benton is currently free on bonds totaling $100,000. She is represented by the Bowie County Public Defender’s Office.
The case has been assigned to 202nd District Judge John Tidwell.