VA Preschool Teacher Indicted For Child Cruelty, Battery: Officials

FRONT ROYAL, VA — A Virginia teacher was indicted recently on multiple charges after authorities accused her of abusing her preschool students, according to district officials and reports.

Kayla Bennett, a former teacher at Hilda J. Barbour Elementary School in Front Royal, faces two felony counts of child cruelty and four misdemeanor counts of assault and battery, according to a Warren County Public Schools news release.

School officials said Child Protective Services and the Warren County Sheriff's Office were contacted as soon as they received the complaint.

Bennett and a teaching assistant were fired following the investigation, according to the Northern Virginia Daily. The teaching assistant has not been charged.

"This has been devastating to the children and families directly impacted, but also to the broader school community," the district said in a statement. "The classroom is a place where students should feel safe in an environment that is conducive to learning. Parents entrust their children to our care during the school day, and they should feel that their children are in a safe place."

According to the indictment obtained by the Daily, Bennett is accused of abusing two children on different occasions between Jan. 4 and May 5.

During a June 7 school board meeting, parent Tyler Wright claimed his 4 and 5-year-old children were abused by Bennett, according to reports. During the meeting, reports said Wright accused Bennett of pulling his children by their arms and to classroom floors.

Parents and school board members also used the meeting as a forum to express frustration on how the case was handled, NBC Washington reported.

"You know, you're suspending these teachers on the fourth and the fifth of May for allegations of child abuse, and you're not calling parents until the ninth? You know, that's kind of crazy," Wright said.

Meanwhile, Warren County school board member Melanie Salins said she was "heartbroken and furious."

In a statement provided to NBC Washington, Bennett's attorney said "she vehemently asserts her innocence."