Photo: Marion County Sheriff's Office
The principal at a private school in Florida was arrested for allegedly assaulting a student. The Marion County Sheriff's Office said that deputies were called to the Destiny Leadership Academy in Ocala because of a physical altercation between the school's principal, 33-year-old Dontay Prophet, and a 13-year-old student.
Deputies reviewed surveillance video footage from inside the classroom, which showed Prophet preventing the child from leaving and assaulting him for over 40 minutes. During that time, he put the boy in a chokehold, slapped him in the face, and whipped him with a charging cable.
"When our deputy arrived and viewed the surveillance video of this teacher stopping the child from leaving, hitting him, holding him down, putting him in a chokehold until he finally lets him leave the room — it's heartbreaking," Valerie Strong with Marion County Sherriff's Office said. "We send our children to school to people who are supposed to teach them and protect them and help them flourish from children into adults."
Prophet was taken into custody and charged with aggravated child abuse and false imprisonment of a child under 13 years of age.
School officials said they fired Prophet after the incident.
"Our commitment to ensuring the safety and well-being of our students remain unwavering. We will continue to uphold our standards of excellence and nurture an environment where every child can flourish academically, socially, and spiritually," the school said in a statement.