HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY, Fla. — A Hillsborough County principal was arrested on Wednesday for failing to report an incident that involved child abuse, deputies say.
According to an arrest affidavit, 51-year-old Patrick Lalone was provided a video on May 10, 2021, that showed a teacher shoving a desk toward a student, striking and injuring them. According to deputies, the 8-year-old student and teacher were raising their voices at one another.
After seeing the video, Lalone reportedly reached out to professional standards instead of contacting authorities. According to deputies, professional standards was told the incident was "verbal only" and that Lalone would be sending the teacher a written reprimand.
However, after professional standards saw the video, they reportedly discovered the incident was more than verbal.
After being directed by the school district to report the incident to the abuse hotline 11 days after it happened, deputies say Lalone told the hotline the child did not sustain any injuries, which investigators say they later found out was not true.
Months later, in August 2021, a witness would contact authorities to tell them of other verbal and physical incidents at the school that went unreported by Lalone. According to law enforcement, the witness said all those incidents involved the same teacher.
According to the affidavit, Lalone was arrested because of his failure to report the original incident involving the 8-year-old "in a timely manner." The Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office says Lalone now faces one count of failing to report child abuse.
There are a handful of jobs, including school official, that falls under Florida's mandatory reporting laws. This means Lalone had a legal obligation to report any suspected incident of child abuse to law enforcement.
“If you’re going to be the mandatory reporter, it doesn’t necessarily mean there’s going to be a criminal act," Kevin Hayslett, a criminal defense attorney explained. "The reporter doesn’t have the luxury of making that decision that’s up to law enforcement.”
Other professional positions required to report child abuse include teachers, doctors, social workers, and nursing home staff.
“[A lot of people] who are in the purview of mandatory reporting feel that they have a duty to determine whether or not that touching is a viable criminal act," Hayslett said. "Sometimes, throughout the state of Florida, [people] have ignored that duty to report because they don’t think it rises to that level."
Lalone's arrest for failure to report child abuse is a third-degree felony. The teacher accused of child abuse, Kayla Godwin, is pictured below. She was arrested for child abuse charges on Dec. 10. Those charges are also considered a third-degree felony.
If Lalone or Godwin is convicted, they could face up to a $5,000 fine and up to 5 years in the state prison.
According to Hillsborough County Public Schools, neither Lalone nor Godwin are actively working for the school. The district shared the following statement on the child abuse investigation:
"This is an ongoing law enforcement investigation. Mr. LaLone is currently on administrative leave and will not be on campus at this time. The teacher, Kayla Godwin, has resigned from the district."
The Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office is investigating and not releasing further details at this time.
This case of alleged child abuse has been a topic in school board meetings over recent months. Bianca Goolsby is an education advocate. She worked with the employee who took and shared a video of Godwin pushing a desk into an 8-year-old boy.
"Heartbroken. I was heartbroken," Goolsby recalls feeling after watching the 7-second clip. "Because this is the scenario that continues to play out day in and day out where our children are in classrooms where, you have people of authority that are able to talk to children, to push a desk, and the child grunted. Just watching that, I was very furious. I was very upset."
Goolsby said she was very disappointed in how the Hillsborough County School District handled this, highlighting the length of time between the incident and the staff being arrested.
“The issue was brought to the district's attention in May," she said. "The educator and the principal were charged and arrested in December... It sends a message that your child is not a priority."