NEW ROADS — A Pointe Coupee Parish preschool teacher is behind bars after surveillance video allegedly showed her tripping and dragging a four-year-old child on a Rosenwald Elementary School playground, an incident that parents say left them shocked and demanding answers.
The pre-K teacher, Ebony Knighten, is charged with one count of cruelty to juveniles.
“What makes a grown individual pull some bullying-type activity on a four-year-old child?,” the child’s father, Byron Martin, told UWK. “He’s four. He’s not a teenager. He’s not 10. He’s not seven. He’s four and you’re 30-years plus. That’s unacceptable as an adult.”
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Inside the arrest warrant: ‘I was speechless & angry’
According to the arrest warrant, Pointe Coupee Parish deputies were called to the school Thursday, Jan. 8, after receiving a report that a teacher had tripped and dragged a student.
When deputies arrived, they reportedly reviewed surveillance footage showing a teacher identified as Knighten “using her leg to trip the juvenile victim” and then “(dragging him) by the arm,” the warrant states.
“I was hurt, speechless and angry. I’m just traumatized,” the child’s mother, Quenitra Joseph, told UWK. “What possessed you to do something like that to my child or anybody’s child?”
“I’m traumatized for my son because I feel like she did that to me,” his father said, struggling to gather his words as he described how upset he was. “I went through that school before. I’ve never experienced anything like that when I was in elementary school. To see my son go through something like that — and he’s just a happy kid.”
The parents say they are taking their son to the hospital to ensure there are no injuries that are not immediately visible. “He told me his wrist was hurting, his arm was tender, and his knees hurt from when she dragged him,” Joseph said.
The little boy will not return to Rosenwald Elementary, a decision his parents say they are firm on given the circumstances. They also say they hope the school was not trying to hide the truth from them. But based on how events unfolded, they say, it is a question they are now left asking.
What the video reportedly shows: ‘He fell face-first’
Joseph said another teacher on the playground witnessed what Knighten allegedly did and reported it to a school resource officer. Around 2 p.m. on Jan. 8 is when she received a call from the school.
“We got a phone call saying there’s an incident – that he fell. The nurse checked him out, and he wasn’t hurt,” Joseph told UWK. “But (another) teacher was near and she said the teacher had been sent home because they’re investigating.”
Joseph said when she later went to the sheriff’s office, she was initially told her son had been pushed. Deputies then asked if she wanted to see the video.
“In the video, my son and another kid were playing,” Joseph said. “My son took off running. The teacher was standing in the middle of the playground. When he ran past her, she kicked her leg out and tripped him. He fell face-first and hit his face. You can see her pick him up by the arm and drag him while he’s on his knees.”
Both parents said they do not know Knighten personally and have never had any prior issues with her, which they say only adds to their questions.
Deputies said they spoke with multiple administrators as part of the investigation. After Knighten met with the school’s human resources department, deputies questioned her at the sheriff’s office before arresting her.
UWK contacted the Pointe Coupee Parish Schools superintendent to ask about Knighten’s employment status with the school and district. As of publication, no response has been received.
The parents say they believe Knighten should no longer be allowed to teach.
“She shouldn’t have any dealings with anyone’s child because of what she did,” Joseph said.
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