Metro Detroit Educator Charged with Assault And Battery

EASTPOINTE, MI — A former paraprofessional at a metro Detroit school is in trouble after prosecutors said she hit an autistic first-grade student with a shoe last fall.

The incident happened last October at Forest Park Elementary in Eastpointe, according to the Macomb County Prosecutor's Office.

Prosecutors said the 53-year-old woman took the child’s shoe off and then deliberately struck the child on the head with it. Prosecutors said the 6-year-old child is autistic.

After school officials finished their investigation, they reached out to police while the woman resigned instead of being fired, prosecutors said.

The 53-year-old Eastpointe woman was charged with assault and battery, which is a misdemeanor punishable up to 93 days in jail.

"As a trusted educator, the defendant had a responsibility to provide a safe and focused learning environment for students. Instead, she violated that trust. This behavior is unacceptable, and we are committed to pursuing justice to ensure that such misconduct has no place in our schools," said Macomb County Prosecutor Peter J. Lucido.