‘He’s only 10’: Florida school employee presses charges against student after she says she was groped during hug

A Florida school employee is pressing charges against a 10-year-old student after she says she was groped during a hug in a fourth grade classroom. 

The Volusia County Schools employee, a mental health counselor, claimed the Holly Hill School student inappropriately touched her during a hug, according to a report filed with the Holly Hill Police Department.

The student was given a 10-day suspension and will return to school Monday.

Lakesha Hollins, the student’s grandmother and legal guardian, said the boy didn’t do anything wrong and disagrees with the employee’s decision to file charges. She also disagreed with the district’s decision suspend the student, though the school notified her Wednesday that there was not enough evidence to expel him.

“We’re talking about a 10-year-old being kicked out of school for what possibly could have been an accident,” Hollins said. 

The News-Journal, part of the Paste BN Network, is not naming the student due to his age, or the district employee, whose name was redacted from the police report and who has opted into Marsy’s Law to protect her privacy. 

Employee claims in reports that student groped her during hug 

In a suspension letter sent to Hollins, the school district stated the counselor was in the student’s classroom when the class returned from lunch and the 10-year-old boy “approached (the counselor) to hug her.” 

“(The counselor) turned sideways to give a side hug,” the report states. “(The student) put his left arm around her shoulder and then with his right hand he reached and grabbed her left breast in which she had to grab his wrist and remove his hand.” 

The report states the student “proceeded to smirk and walk away;” he later “began yelling and kicking things and stormed off” when his primary teacher asked him about the incident. 

In other news: Parent files disability discrimination complaints against Volusia County Schools

The police report, which the employee subsequently filed on  Oct. 24, stated that the incident, which was reported as a simple battery, happened sometime between 11:30 a.m. and noon. 

The report states the counselor saw the student running toward her and turned her body. The student hugged her and then “cupped her left breast in a disrespectful way,” and she had to “forcibly remove his hand,” it said. 

The counselor said she had only had one conversation with the student the previous week and they have never hugged before, according to the report. An online profile states the counselor has worked for Volusia County Schools in that role since August. 

The report also notes that the primary teacher in the classroom did not witness the incident. The mental health counselor did not return a voicemail seeking more information.

Family defends student, says boy always hugs teacher

Speaking on behalf of her grandson, Hollins told the police and The News-Journal that the child didn’t do it. 

Hollins said her grandson was walking, not running, into the classroom, and that he hugged the employee from the front. The boy said the counselor hugged him back but was looking away and possibly talking to someone else, Hollins said. 

TOP STORIES: Details emerge in Paul Pelosi attack: A break-in, conversation, 911 call, then violence

An ancient treasure trove: Looking back at the King Tut tomb discovery 100 years later

“My grandson said with the hug, she did grab his hand and hold his hand up, and he didn't really know why she did it,” Hollins said. “He said she let his hand go and then he walked back to his seat and then he began to talk to other students. They were talking about football.”

Hollins said her grandson regularly hugs the other teacher. She said her grandson may have acted out afterwards because the teacher accused him of doing something he didn’t do, and he didn’t understand what she meant by the term “breast.” 

Hollis questioned why the counselor wouldn't have confronted the student in the moment and instead waited to tell his teacher.

“If it happened the way that she’s saying it happened … where was the spontaneous reaction?” Hollins questioned. “Why didn’t she just say, ‘Why did you do that?’ or ‘That was inappropriate,’ just to get somebody else in the room’s attention?” 

Hollins also noted the stories vary in the school and police reports, with the school report stating the counselor returned the hug and the police report saying she turned sideways because the student was running.

“There’s no witnesses, (just) her word against his,” Hollins said, also stressing that “he’s only 10.”

Family questions severity of punishment

Hollins said she was initially told her grandson was suspended for three days, but it was later changed to 10 days with an expulsion hearing. She said the district did not allow her to attend the hearing but the school called afterwards to say her grandson had not been expelled. The district would like to put him in behavioral counseling, she said.

VCS Director of Communications Angel Gomez shared via email that the District Student Placement Committee, which is designated by the superintendent, determines whether to recommend students for expulsion or another placement. He said the committee meets privately and no one else is allowed at the meetings, but parents and guardians could appeal a decision afterward.

The district did not offer any other comments about the incident.

Even if the student were at fault, Hollins questions why there was no intermediate level of intervention, such as having a meeting with the family or starting some paperwork to keep on record.

“Even if let’s say this did happen the way that she’s saying, as a behavioral specialist, what are you trying to gain to go straight to criminal charges and kicking him out of school?” she said. 

MORE TOP STORIES: Supreme Court Justice Barrett denies second challenge to Biden student loan forgiveness program

A LOOK AT SCHOOL BOARD RACES: These PACS are funding 'parents' rights advocates' running for local school board positions

Battery on a school employee is considered a “Level IV” offense, according to the Volusia County Schools Code of Student Conduct 2022-2023. Expulsion must be recommended for this highest level of offense, the code states, and parents or guardians can request a conference for an alternative education program, restitution or other referrals to a school counselor, social worker or psychologist. 

Inappropriate touching and sexual harassment, however, are listed as “Level III” offenses. Responses to those violations may include an expulsion recommendation, alternative education program or referrals, or lesser actions such as suspension, a problem-solving team or Saturday School, for example. 

Incidents of school employees pressing charges against students are not unheard of, though they are more common in response to violence and typically are against older students.

In 2019, for example, a Volusia County teacher pressed charges against a 9-year-old girl who punched the teacher in the hand after refusing to pick up a textbook she had thrown. 

Hollins says her grandson was not arrested because he is a juvenile and police told her the complaint would be forwarded to the state attorney’s office.

She plans to ask the school to revoke his suspension and excuse the absences now that the expulsion has been dropped.

Contact reporter Danielle Johnson at djohnson@gannett.com