A Florida school named Caroline Melanie Lee its teacher of the year last Wednesday. Two days later, she allegedly punched a student in the face after accusing her of sending a threatening post on Instagram.
Florida woman is arrested for child molestation days after being named Teacher of the Year
Caroline Melanie Lee, a 60-year-old teacher at Darnell-Cookman Middle/High School in Duval County, has been charged with child abuse, according to the Florida Times-Union.
Lee allegedly confronted a student, who was not in any of her classes, on Friday after the student accused her of using the N-word in an Instagram post announcing the teacher’s honor. Lee allegedly saw the post as “a threat to kill her,” according to the arrest report.
Lee claimed she only used the racial slur while teaching “Of Mice and Men.”
The student, who has not been publicly identified, claims Lee punched her in the face and gave her a bloody nose. She left Lee’s classroom and immediately went to the school counselor’s office to report the teacher.
Lee denied any physical contact and claimed the classroom door was open, but another student told police that Lee had told him to leave the classroom and close the door behind him, according to the Times-Union .
Darnell-Cookman Principal Tyrus Lyles called the arrest “very troubling,” and Duval Schools Superintendent Diana Greene said authorities are cooperating with the investigation.
Lyles also said Lee had been “removed from the classroom and will not return, pending judicial and internal proceedings.”
Lee was released from jail Saturday and ordered to stay off school property.
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