Cheryl Ann Andrews, a 69-year-old paraprofessional, or teacher’s aide, at Indian Trail Middle School for 18 years and a resident of Rolland Lane in Palm Coast, was arrested Thursday on a felony charge of child abuse after video footage appears to show her hitting a disabled student and briefly adding to the abuse.
The incident took place in the Indian Trails cafeteria midmorning on Sept. 24. The arrest took place only now because the child, while able to speak, is largely non-communicative, requiring detectives to secure a specialized interview method. But Andrews was paid on paid administrative leave shortly after the incident and has not had any contact with children since.
“In the video, you can see Ms. Andrews walk over to (the child) and smack (the child) on the back of his head, unprovoked,” her arrest affidavit states. The student “then clutched the back of his head with his hand and looked around, apparently in pain and confused.”
The video clip released by the Sheriff’s Office (see below) shows the student with his peers at a lunch table, having his meal, as Andrews drops something next to him on the table before inexplicably shoving his head with her right hand. She walks on, directs another child to empty his tray in a nearby garbage can, which she then with the same quickness of movements, shoves out of the way (the garbage can, not the child), before walking back directly to the alleged victim, looming over him for a moment before grabbing his head and whipping it back as she speaks to him. She lets go instants later, his head swinging back like a pendulum.
The following day, Catherine O’Neill, an investigator with the Department of Children and Families, informed the school resource officer at Indian Trails that the department was investigating the allegation of abuse. On Oct. 4, the child’s mother told the school resource deputy she wanted to pursue criminal charges. The forensic interview by a Child Protection Team member was conducted on Oct. 23.
A detective also interviewed Johnson, who corroborated the surveillance footage and “explained how Andrews is very aggressive towards all the students and that Andrews[‘] actions against (the child) were unprovoked,” according to the arrest affidavit. Andrews has been an employee of the district since 2006, all those years at Indian Trails Middle School, according to records released by the district.
It isn’t yet exactly clear when she was placed on administrative leave.
A detective interviewed Andrews on Nov. 5. She “confessed to striking (the child) multiple times and grabbing his face,” the affidavit reads, and that her actions were unprovoked, “and that she doesn’t know why she did that.” She said she was adequately trained to handle these situations correctly (she does not explain what the “situation” may have been since she conceded that her behavior was unprovoked) and that her actions were incorrect.
It is typical for the district to place employees on paid administrative leave when a matter is under criminal or at times internal investigation, pending the disposition of the case. Employees lose their job if they are found guilty of a felony. They do not automatically lose their job if they are found guilty of a misdemeanor, but that doesn’t mean they necessarily keep their job–even if the charges do not stick: in those cases, the district’s own investigation, which involves speaking with other employees and possibly students and exploring whether any patterns exist, determines whether the employee remains.
The fact that the Sheriff’s Office filed a third degree felony charge of child abuse does not mean that the State Attorney will file the same charge when it decide how, or whether, to prosecute. It could very well file a misdemeanor battery charge (or simple battery), which would be the likelier approach: the State Attorney files whichever charge it deems to be most effectively prosecutable through trial if need be. In other words, if a jury were to see this video, would it find it to be child abuse or battery?
But the State Attorney must also contend with the district’s and its own recent history of prosecuting students with felonies when they attack staff, most notably in the case of Brendan Depa, who brutalized his paraprofessional in February 2023 and is now serving five years in prison. So the State Attorney’s decision is not happening in a vacuum. Nor will the district’s, when it comes time to evaluating Andrews’s future there.
Andrews was released on $2,500 bond after her booking at the Flagler County jail. A no-contact order is in place regarding the alleged victim and one witness.
“I want to thank the Major Case Unit for a thorough investigation to ensure all facts were known while protecting the student from further assault,” Sheriff Rick Staly was quoted as saying in a release. “School employees have a difficult job in today’s environment, but this was an unprovoked assault, and the school district took immediate action to safeguard students from this aggressive employee. We will not tolerate attacks on a student regardless of who commits it. The District and the Sheriff’s Office are committed to ensuring a safe learning environment for everyone.”
The Flagler County Public School District released this statement, “The employee is on paid administrative leave pending further investigation.”
David S. says
Stupid old fart she needs to be in jail. If that was my child she wouldn’t roaming the streets.
Tracy Marie says
I hope you are not suggesting violence against this woman. People really need to watch their language and wait for charges, if any are filed by Prosecutor NOT a rogue Sheriff , trying to make a headline for himself.
Grandma says
Put her in jail!!!! I have a nonverbal autistic grandchild who went abuse at the hands of a elementary school teacher. This makes me so angry!
Mary says says
She should never be around children again. She has lost her ability to be patient and kind with children. If she actually ever had either of those qualities. My heart breaks when I see a defenseless child being abused. This is beyond cowardly.
Tony says
I guess Staly is the judge and jury !!!
Brian says
She looks like someone has been knocking HER around…..
Tracy Marie says
Anyone watching this video can clearly see that was NOT child abuse. Sheriff Staly has done an injustice that can’t be undone.
Mary Fusco says
Tracy, she has no right to put her hand on a child. If a child is misbehaving she can chastise them, send them to the office and have their parents contacted. Her body language says it all. She acts more like a matron in a men’s prison than an aide in an elementary school.
Skibum says
I sincerely hope you do not have any opportunity, or job that requires you to be around or interact with other people’s children, ESPECIALLY disabled children. You have no idea what you are talking about if you think what that teacher’s aide did was somehow not child abuse! I watched the video multiple times, and there is no reason whatsoever to justify that woman’s behavior toward that disabled child. The video clearly shows her smacking his head the first time, then coming around a second time and yanking his head back before pushing it forward. That, is clearly child abuse as well as battery on that student, and I am glad that the woman is being prosecuted. One aspect that should be investigated further is the witness’ statement saying this teacher’s aide is aggressive toward ALL of the students, because it would seem to me that there very well could be other children and prior incidents of similar abuse that should be thoroughly investigated both by the school administration as well as follow-up interviews with that witness and any other school staff by law enforcement to determine if there is a pattern of abuse that can be attributed to the teachers aide instead of just a one time incident that this video shows.
MC says
You are 1000% correct! How dare anyone say this is NOT abuse! She will def learn a hard lesson in prison.
Eugene Lopes says
Is the other adult who is watching this happen, also on administrative leave?
Anonymous says
Why are you blocking a story from being shared? If you don’t want it shared, don’t put it out there.
FlaglerLive says
We are not blocking anything of the sort. Please let us know where you’re trying to share it and what happens when you try.
Nancy N. says
THIS is part of why so many parents of autistic kids do not feel comfortable sending their kids to school and prefer to homeschool. What if this attack had occurred in a closed classroom with no camera and behind the back of other staff (which is where kids spend the majority of their time during the school day)? The child would be unable to communicate that something had even happened, and the perpetrator gets off scott free because no one even knows a crime occurred, let alone has evidence of it. It’s extremely hard to hand your child over to others when they can’t tell you what happens when they are away.
I definitely would like to see some questions answered about the lack of intervention in this incident by other staff members.
After what happened to Brandon Depa, and how the district and the legal system failed him, I hope they don’t fail this child too. Ms. Andrews should go away at least as long as Brandon is. She, after all, has nothing like the mitigating factors that he had, and was in a caretaker role for a vulnerable person. The damage she has done to that child and to that family’s trust in others will not be easily repaired.
Fred Flarskey says
What about Fish at FPC? Thursday night shook a player by their face mask (a bannable offense with zero tolerance according to Florida law), and physically shoved 3 more. I think there is a lot of tolerance for physical contact from educators; but if a student brushing another in the halls: its assault.