YPSILANTI, Mich. (WXYZ) — An Ypsilanti mother says a substitute teacher isn't being held accountable for striking her daughter, and prosecutors say there's a reason the assault charge was dropped.
“That's giving her access to do that to another kid,” Starkeisha Franklin said.
It was Franklin's 5-year-old daughter's encounter with a substitute teacher, who was charged with assault.
The incident took place in November during gym class at Perry Early Learning Center in Ypsilanti. That's when Franklin said her daughter was twirling around with some sort of stick that she picked up in the gym and accidentally hit the substitute teacher with it.
In the video, the substitute responded by taking the stick and striking the kindergartener back.
“My daughter's having nightmares. I enrolled my daughter in counseling now behind this,” Franklin said.
The substitute teacher was charged with assault, but Franklin is upset because last week, the case was dropped by the prosecution.
Franklin describes a conversation she said she had with an assistant prosecutor.
“I kept saying, ‘Do you or do you not see her hitting striking my daughter on the video?’ And she told me multiple times, ‘Yes, we do see her make a contact, but we don't think it was enough force behind it,’” Franklin said. “How? When my daughter got off the bus, my daughter was limping. That's how I knew something was wrong with her.”
In a statement to 7 Action News, Washtenaw County Chief Assistant Prosecuting Attorney Victoria-Burton Harris said:
“The case was initially charged as a misdemeanor assault and battery before video evidence was received. Upon reviewing the video, it did not appear that we could prove, beyond a reasonable doubt, that the defendant had intentionally engaged in “forceful, violent, or offensive” battery—as is required under Michigan’s jury instructions. Accordingly—following a meeting with the child’s mother, a victim advocate, and an assistant prosecutor to discuss the evidence and the law—the case was dismissed because there was no reasonable likelihood of conviction.”
Franklin said the substitute teacher had options if she thought her daughter did something malicious, but she chose to strike her.
The day this happened, the superintendent of Ypsilanti Community Schools says they banned the substitute teacher, who was a contract worker from Edustaff, a staffing company.
A spokesperson for Edustaff said the person has not worked for them since they were notified of the incident, and they are not aware of any other complaints against her.
7 Action News reached out to the former substitute teacher's attorney, who declined to comment as Franklin now considers a lawsuit.
“She's 5-years old — that can be traumatizing for kids,” Franklin said. “My daughter has nightmares and everything behind that. And I feel like no justice was served.
