Alabama teacher arrested, fired as video appears to show her hitting child with belt 20 times

A south Alabama teacher has been arrested after a video circulated online appearing to show her cursing and repeatedly hitting a child with a belt.

According to the Mobile County Sheriff’s Office, Nicole Staples, a 2nd grade teacher at Cottage Hill Christian Academy, was charged with willful abuse of a child under 18 Wednesday evening.

The video shows her outside of school striking the child over 20 times before pulling him by his hair.

Cottage Hill said in a release that Staples was fired following her arrest, “in accordance with institutional policy.”

Cottage Hill Christian Academy prioritizes the wellbeing of children above all else,” Head of School Chris Brazell said. “We will always act promptly, transparently, and responsibly when matters arise that may impact the safety or integrity of our school community.”

Staples was named co-Teacher of the Year by the school in May, according to social media posts that have been deleted.

Cottage Hill released an initial statement after the video caused outrage from community members on Facebook.

“We just became aware of an incident that occurred off-campus prior to today,” the statement read.

“Authorities were notified and are investigating. The teacher in question has been placed on administrative leave with pay and relieved of her duties.”

The sheriff‘s office said no further information was available as the investigation is still ongoing.

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