The principal of an elementary school in central Florida was arrested this week, and indicted of keeping a child in a room for 40 minutes, subjecting him to a chokehold, and hitting him with a charging cable.
Florida Elementary School Principal Arrested for Child Abuse
Dontay Akeem Prophet, aged 33 and previous principal of Destiny Leadership Academy in Ocala, was arrested on Saturday for accusations of aggravated child abuse and false confinement of a child under 13, according to statements from the Marion County Sheriff's Office.
Following his arrest, Prophet was dissolved from his position at the private school. Prophet has pleaded not guilty, according to court records. A judge neglected a motion for pretrial confinement on Tuesday, setting bond at $50,000, per court records.
As of Wednesday night, Prophet remained in detention, as determined by jail records. Despite Prophet's claim that he confined the child to prevent self-harm, investigators refute this assertion.
According to reports from WESH, Prophet affirmed that he was indecisive to permit the boy to leave the classroom due to issues about self-inflicted harm. However, the sheriff's office spokesperson declared that Prophet's actions heightened physical abuse.
Authorities asserted that security footage showed Prophet confining the child in the classroom for roughly 40 minutes, during which he supposedly slapped, choked, and attacked the child with a charging cable. An attorney representing Prophet did not answer quickly to a request for comment late Wednesday.
Authorities did not issue the identity, condition, or age of the child, and the investigation into the cause of the circumstances is continuous.
Video Showed School Principal Choking Student in the Classroom
Surveillance footage reportedly captured Prophet taking a male student inside a classroom for more than 40 minutes, as stated by the Marion County Sheriff's Office.
In the video, Prophet is seen gripping the student's arm, constraining him, and placing him in a chokehold. He also supposedly twisted the boy's ankle and slapped him in the face.
Valerie Strong of the Marion County Sheriff's Office stated, "Dontay Prophet started touching the child and pushing on him, and it turned into where he started to physically abuse the child," as reported by WESH. Authorities confronted Prophet with the video evidence during his arrest, Click Orlando disclosed.
Prophet claimed that the altercation was an effort to prevent the boy from harming himself, although investigators assert that the footage contradicts this claim.
Prophet is currently being held without bail, according to Marion County records, and is scheduled to appear in court on June 11.
Following Prophet's arrest, Destiny Leadership Academy terminated his employment, as reported by WESH. The school held a meeting with parents on Monday to address the incident.
Dominique Hernandez, who was considering enrolling her brother at the academy, demanded answers, asking, "Why would he do that, what was the reasoning? What was going on in their heads to do something like that?"
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