Preschoolers punished by standing naked in closet, say police. Teachers on leave

One preschool teacher ordered the children to strip naked and stand in a closet for 10 minutes, officials say.

Another preschool teacher stood guard. 

Those two Head Start teachers in East St. Louis, Illinois, are now on paid administrative leave. They worked for Head Start program operated by Southern Illinois University Edwardsville at the Jackie Joyner-Kersee Center.  

"We felt that was very inappropriate and possibly there's some criminal action, charges could come as a result of this," (SIUE) Police Chief Kevin Schmoll told KMOV-TV.

He added that the children would be interviewed early next month before a charging decision is made.

The chief said that at least four students ages 4 to 5 years old were made to stand naked in the closet and that the behavior has been going on since February, but that police weren't notified until last week.

The Head Start program sent a letter to parents saying that it was cooperating with investigators and that it doesn’t condone inappropriate behavior.

Contributing: AP

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