Teacher acquitted for arm lock on 5-year-old
A female preschool teacher facing charges for molesting a 5-year-old boy was acquitted on Monday by the district court in Varberg in western Sweden.
“I’m going to show you what police do to children like you,” the woman is alleged to have said as she twisted the boy’s arm up behind his back during a confrontation in January of this year.
The boy’s mother happened to come by and saw what happened while the rest of the boy’s class sat and ate in another room.
The teacher was charged with molestation and although she admitted grabbing the boy and pushing his face down against a desk, she denied that her actions amounted to a criminal act.
The teacher explained in her testimony before the court that she felt forced to restrain the 5-year-old to get him to calm down.
The boy had thrown things around the room, including at the preschool teacher, and said that he was also going to start throwing things at a window.
The teacher said that on a different occasion she had attempted to hold the boy on her knee, but that the approach hadn’t worked.
The district court wrote in its ruling that it can be seen as a “justified measure” to take hold of a 5-year-old and attempt to calm him down, even if one can question the appropriateness of the method employed by the woman in the case.
However, continued the court, the teacher didn’t intentionally behave recklessly toward the 5-year-old.
Comments
See Also
“I’m going to show you what police do to children like you,” the woman is alleged to have said as she twisted the boy’s arm up behind his back during a confrontation in January of this year.
The boy’s mother happened to come by and saw what happened while the rest of the boy’s class sat and ate in another room.
The teacher was charged with molestation and although she admitted grabbing the boy and pushing his face down against a desk, she denied that her actions amounted to a criminal act.
The teacher explained in her testimony before the court that she felt forced to restrain the 5-year-old to get him to calm down.
The boy had thrown things around the room, including at the preschool teacher, and said that he was also going to start throwing things at a window.
The teacher said that on a different occasion she had attempted to hold the boy on her knee, but that the approach hadn’t worked.
The district court wrote in its ruling that it can be seen as a “justified measure” to take hold of a 5-year-old and attempt to calm him down, even if one can question the appropriateness of the method employed by the woman in the case.
However, continued the court, the teacher didn’t intentionally behave recklessly toward the 5-year-old.
Join the conversation in our comments section below. Share your own views and experience and if you have a question or suggestion for our journalists then email us at [email protected].
Please keep comments civil, constructive and on topic – and make sure to read our terms of use before getting involved.
Please log in here to leave a comment.