The Daily Caller’s worst teacher of the week is a no-brainer this time: it’s Thomas Washburn, an Arizona kindergarten teacher who was yelling at all the kids in his class. Then, when one little girl got scared and hid her face in her shirt, Washburn allegedly removed her shirt completely, leaving her naked from the waist up.
The little girl is six years old, reports local television station KTVK.
The incident occurred on Wednesday at Adams Elementary School in the Phoenix suburb of Mesa.
Police say Washburn, 54, was hollering at the 25 kids in his class for some reason. The little girl, described by her mother as “developmentally delayed” due to a premature birth, was frightened. Consequently, she hid her face down in her shirt.
Washburn did not like this response. He told the girl to stop hiding her face. She didn’t listen, probably because she was even more scared.
At that point, Washburn really lost his cool. Police say he went up to the girl and totally removed her shirt.
The unnamed girl then sat there, shirtless. She was crying.
Washburn continued on with class.
The situation lasted for about 10 minutes. Finally, Washburn returned the six-year-old girls’ shirt.
At the end of the school day, when the girl’s mother arrived at school to pick her up, Washburn explained what happened, according to local ABC affiliate KNXV.
The mom was livid. She immediately notified the principal’s office. In turn, the principal’s office called the police.
Police conducted an investigation. They interviewed the little girl and her mother. They determined that Washburn and an adult aide were the only adults in the classroom.
Police took Washburn to the Mesa Police Department headquarters for an interview. For the most part, he invoked his constitutional right not to answer any questions.
The teacher now faces a single count of child abuse and 24 counts of indecent exposure—a single count for each of the other kids present in his class.
School district officials indicated that Washburn has taught at Adams Elementary since 2006. He has only taught kindergarten.
He has been placed on administrative leave since the incident. It’s not clear if he’s getting paid during his time on leave.
A KTVK reporter managed to track down another parent who has a child in Washburn’s class.
“He deserves what he got,” said that mom, Allison Burkhead. “No little kid should have to go through that.”
Burkhead added that Washburn has always appeared “a little off” to her.
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