HORRY COUNTY, SC (WBTW) — A special education teacher at Saint James Middle School in Horry County allegedly put a student for an “inappropriate comment” while the student was going through a “behavior episode” and dragged him across the room, according to a Horry County Police report obtained by News13. .
Gabriel Hernandez, 28, has been booked into the J. Rubin Long Term Detention Center after being arrested Friday by US marshals, according to online prison records. He faces a misdemeanor charge of child cruelty.
Hernandez has been on paid administrative leave since March 20, according to a spokesperson for Horry County Schools, who said he will remain on leave until further notice. The alleged incident occurred on March 17.
An eyewitness told police that Hernandez put all of his body weight on the child’s legs by “sitting on him and pinning him to the ground for about 30 seconds before the teacher’s assistant intervened,” according to the police report.
According to an arrest warrant, Hernandez dragged the student by his feet across the room and then “forcefully lifted the victim off the floor and then slammed him into the chair in a seated position.”
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Dennis Bright is a digital producer at News13. Denise is a native of West Virginia and graduated from Marshall University. He has won editorial and journalism awards in Virginia and Ohio. Follow Denise on Twitter Read more of his work here.