BRADENTON, Fla. — A Manatee County teacher is facing charges after police say she was caught on camera tying a non-verbal 7-year-old student to a chair.
The incident happened on Feb. 2 at G.D. Rogers Garden-Bullock Elementary School in Bradenton.
Officers say security cameras caught 31-year-old teacher Carina Chindamo and her teacher's aide, 39-year-old Taylor Internicola, tying the wrists of a 7-year-old, non-verbal boy.
The nylon rope is typically used to teach students to walk in line.
According to police, the rope was then wrapped around the leg of a chair, restraining the child. He sat on the ground behind the chair for approximately one hour.
"At various times in the video, Chindamo and Internicola were observed sitting on the chair, appearing to use their weight to keep the child from getting free," the police department wrote.
Chindamo was arrested on Tuesday night and charged with false imprisonment of a child under age 13. On Friday, authorities said Internicola was arrested after multiple failed attempts to arrest her on Thursday.
In a statement, the Manatee County School District called the details of the incident "disturbing and reprehensible." Read the full statement below:
The highest priority of the School District of Manatee County is student safety. While we do not typically comment on matters which are currently being investigated by law enforcement or the State Attorney’s Office, the Bradenton Police Department has announced warrants for the arrest of an exceptional student education teacher and an aide for their conduct involving one of our students at Rogers Garden-Bullock Elementary. The details of this incident, as described in the Bradenton Police Department Press Release, are disturbing and reprehensible.
The District has been fully cooperating with law enforcement throughout this active investigation. All of our protocols have been followed, including the employees’ removal from the classroom immediately after the incident was reported and reassignment to other District locations where students are not present.
Police say they are working to find out if this has happened to other children at the school.
Anyone with information about this case is asked to contact Detective Dalia Santana at dalia.santana@bradentonpd.com or the Bradenton Police Department at 941-932-9300.
Tips can be submitted anonymously to Crime Stoppers at manateecrimestoppers.com or 866-634-8477 (TIPS).