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TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) — An assistant principal and teacher at a Tampa middle school were arrested in connection to a child abuse investigation after a video showed the teacher put a child in a chokehold, according to the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office.
On Jan. 18, officials said 39 year-old Bennie Leverett, a teacher at Progress Village Middle School, put a student in a chokehold, “restricting the student’s ability to breathe.”
Assistant Principal Tashiska Fabian, 41, reportedly met with Leverett and the student after she was made aware of the incident but never reported it to the Child Abuse Hotline or police.
After Fabian learned that the incident was recorded, she told the student to delete the video, according to the sheriff’s office. The video had been deleted but was recovered by detectives.
Officials showed up at the middle school with the Department of Children and Families on Feb. 16 to investigate, and Leverett was later arrested on March 14.
On Wednesday, Fabian was arrested on a warrant since she failed to report the incident.
In a statement to WFLA, Hillsborough County Public Schools released the following statement:
Immediately upon finding out about the allegation in February, the teacher was pulled from duty.
The teacher was then arrested in March, and the school notified all families about the arrest. The teacher never returned to school, and he resigned from the district in March.
The Sheriff’s Office also was investigating the assistant principal at the time, Ms. Fabian, for knowing about the incident but failing to report it to law enforcement. Ms. Fabian was also pulled from duty in February. She was never allowed to return to the school and was let go. She is not a current district employee.
Again, neither one of these individuals has been on our campus since last February and it does not involve any current district employee.
The safety of our students and staff is our top priority.
Hillsborough County Public Schools
“It is deeply troubling that a teacher would harm a student, but even more so when a person in a position of authority fails to do the right thing and report the crime. This is a complete betrayal of trust within our community,” Sheriff Chad Chronister said. “I’m proud of the witness who stepped up and did the right thing by reporting the incident, ensuring law enforcement could step in and bring justice for the victim.”
This remains an active investigation.