No Crime Committed In Paddling Of Girl At School: State Attorney

CLEWISTON, FL — No crime was committed when a Florida school principal paddled a 6-year-old girl last month in an act of discipline that was secretly recorded by the girl's mother, the Florida State Attorney said in a memo to the Clewiston Police Department that has since been shared by CNN.

The state attorney office said an investigation led them to believe the 6-year-old was spanked at the request of the mother.

School staff member Celia Self spoke with the mother of the 6-year-old girl about the possibility of charges being filed against the mother after the girl intentionally damaged school computer equipment, Deputy Chief Assistant State Attorney Abraham R. Thornburg said, according to CNN.

Self said the mother told her the young girl had been damaging things at home as well and "threatens to call the police and DCF," leading to the mother's fears of spanking the child, according to Thornburg's account.

“Ms. Self further stated that (the mother) then requested that the school spank the child for her, to which Ms. Self replied that she would have to physically come to the school, specifically request such discipline, and be present during the spanking if she wished school staff to do it for her," Thornburg said.

Media outlets have not named the mother or daughter out of the mother's fears as an undocumented immigrant.

Both Self and Principal Melissa Carter, who the mother's video shows spanking the child, said the mother came to the school and made the request they spank the child again, according to Thornburg.

The video shows Carter winding up a wooden paddle with force to deliver three solid, loud smacks to the crying girl's backside.

Related On Patch: Paddling Of 6-year-Old At School Is Child Abuse, Lawyer Says

"Now, don't do it again and sit down," Carter told the girl, pointing her index finger.

The verbal beat-down continued, and at one point, the child began to hyperventilate.

"If your mom wants to come up … and spank you and we can watch," Carter continued, pointing toward the back of the room, "that's gonna happen."

Yet, Thornburg said in the memo "both staff members appear to treat the child and her mother with respect throughout this process."

Brent Probinsky, the family's attorney, said prosecutors used the wrong legal precedence in determine there was no crime committed by the school. Hendry County, which includes the city of Clewiston right off Lake Okeechobee, does not allow corporal punishment.

The decision not to criminally charge Carter or Self, Probisnky told CNN, was "relied on a flawed legal analysis"and "the wrong law to decide if a criminal act was committed."

“The principal, Melissa Carter, and her assistant, Celia Self, who held down and severely paddled this six-year-old first-grader, violated the clearly written rule of the Hendry County School District and the laws of the State of Florida,” the lawyer added.