Deputies: Teacher Abused Child in Front of Mom, Principal

A 49-year-old Holiday woman faces child abuse charges after Pasco County Sheriff’s deputies say she abused a student in her pre-kindergarten classroom at Richey Elementary School.

According to the agency, Leslie Kostakis was brought into custody on Thursday following a Wednesday incident at the school.

Deputies say Kostakis attempted to read a book to children in her class around 10:50 a.m. when a 4-year-old girl failed to sit down. Kostakis, a probable cause affidavit said, “grabbed the victim by the left arm and pulled her approximately 6 feet and physically forced her to sit on the floor by applying pressure to her shoulder area.”

About two minutes later, the girl got up again, the report stated. Kostakis, the report said, “grasped the student by both arms and proceeded to pull her across the room” and force her to sit down a second time.

In neither incident, a witness told deputies, did Kostakis verbally direct the child to sit down first.

A photograph was taken of the child’s arm after the incident, the arrest report noted. It showed red marks.

The incident was witnessed by the school’s assistant principal and the child’s mother, the report stated.

The girl’s mother, who volunteers in the class, told deputies Kostakis “commonly uses physical force to redirect students in the classroom.”

When interviewed, the child told investigators she is “scared of the teacher,” the report noted.

Kostakis was booked into the Land O’ Lakes Jail on a child abuse charge. She was later released in lieu of $5,000 bond.

Booking photo courtesy of the Pasco County Sheriff’s Office