Photo: Getty Images
A 10-year-old Black boy has been suspended from a Florida elementary school and faces a battery charge after a counselor accused the student of inappropriately touching her during a hug, NBC News reports.
The school counselor at Holly Hill in Volusia County, who is white and has invoked Marsy’s Law to remain anonymous, claims she was visiting a classroom last month when a fourth-grader approached her for a hug and ultimately groped her, police records and the boy's suspension letter cites.
The counselor said she "turned sideways to give a side hug" on October 24, and the young student put one arm around her shoulder and "reached and grabbed her left breast" with the other hand, per the suspension letter. In the letter, the counselor said she removed his hand, and the 10-year-old walked away.
According to police records, officers were called to the school for the alleged battery, and the child now faces a misdemeanor battery charge. The 10-year-old hasn't been officially charged, police said per NBC News.
The boy's family and legal team maintain that he's been falsely accused. Attorney Rawsi Williams said the 10-year-old says the counselor was the one who initiated the hug.
“All he did was go up to hug her. It was nothing more than that for him. He then went back to his desk, talked with his other football playmates,” Williams said.
They also accused the school of not properly investigating the incident before the student was suspended for 10 days. The boy was allowed to return to the elementary on Tuesday (November 8), lawyers said.
"The next thing he knew, the teacher calls him up and accuses him of having groped this lady. [The child] denied it, but even with him denying it, they still suspended him. They still called the police on him. The [counselor] still told the police that she wanted to pursue criminal battery charges against this 10-year-old kid.”
According to the police report and the suspension letter, the student's teacher was in the room at the time of the alleged incident but didn't witness what happened. Frank T. Allen, a second attorney for the boy, said the family believes racism was involved, noting that the child's father said the allegations are reminiscent of Emmett Till's case.
“It exacerbates the stereotypes of Black men and how they react around women and white women," Allen said. "And for her to go and do that and excoriate this child with these baseless accusations, this is going to have a long-term effect on him and how he interacts with people."
Get the latest news 24/7 on The Black Information Network. Listen now on the iHeartRadio app or click HERE to tune in live.