Cheryl Ann Andrews, a 69-year-old paraprofessional, or teacher’s aide, at Indian Trail Middle School for 18 years and a resident of Rolland Lane in Palm Coast, was arrested Thursday on a felony charge of child abuse after video footage appears to show her hitting a disabled student and briefly adding to the abuse.
The incident took place in the Indian Trails cafeteria midmorning on Sept. 24. The arrest took place only now because the child, while able to speak, is largely non-communicative, requiring detectives to secure a specialized interview method. But Andrews was paid on paid administrative leave shortly after the incident and has not had any contact with children since.
“In the video, you can see Ms. Andrews walk over to (the child) and smack (the child) on the back of his head, unprovoked,” her arrest affidavit states. The student “then clutched the back of his head with his hand and looked around, apparently in pain and confused.”
The student then points toward Andrews and looks at Vivianne Johnson, a 25-year-old employee listed as a witness in the case, seemingly asking Johnson why Andrews hit him. “Andrews immediately walked back over and aggressively shoved (the child’s) head once again. Andrews then promptly pulls (the child’s) head backward towards her chest and forcefully places another hand around 9the child’s) face.”
The video clip released by the Sheriff’s Office (see below) shows the student with his peers at a lunch table, having his meal, as Andrews drops something next to him on the table before inexplicably shoving his head with her right hand. She walks on, directs another child to empty his tray in a nearby garbage can, which she then with the same quickness of movements, shoves out of the way (the garbage can, not the child), before walking back directly to the alleged victim, looming over him for a moment before grabbing his head and whipping it back as she speaks to him. She lets go instants later, his head swinging back like a pendulum.
The following day, Catherine O’Neill, an investigator with the Department of Children and Families, informed the school resource officer at Indian Trails that the department was investigating the allegation of abuse. On Oct. 4, the child’s mother told the school resource deputy she wanted to pursue criminal charges. The forensic interview by a Child Protection Team member was conducted on Oct. 23.
A detective also interviewed Johnson, who corroborated the surveillance footage and “explained how Andrews is very aggressive towards all the students and that Andrews[‘] actions against (the child) were unprovoked,” according to the arrest affidavit. Andrews has been an employee of the district since 2006, all those years at Indian Trails Middle School, according to records released by the district.
It isn’t yet exactly clear when she was placed on administrative leave.
A detective interviewed Andrews on Nov. 5. She “confessed to striking (the child) multiple times and grabbing his face,” the affidavit reads, and that her actions were unprovoked, “and that she doesn’t know why she did that.” She said she was adequately trained to handle these situations correctly (she does not explain what the “situation” may have been since she conceded that her behavior was unprovoked) and that her actions were incorrect.
It is typical for the district to place employees on paid administrative leave when a matter is under criminal or at times internal investigation, pending the disposition of the case. Employees lose their job if they are found guilty of a felony. They do not automatically lose their job if they are found guilty of a misdemeanor, but that doesn’t mean they necessarily keep their job–even if the charges do not stick: in those cases, the district’s own investigation, which involves speaking with other employees and possibly students and exploring whether any patterns exist, determines whether the employee remains.
The fact that the Sheriff’s Office filed a third degree felony charge of child abuse does not mean that the State Attorney will file the same charge when it decide how, or whether, to prosecute. It could very well file a misdemeanor battery charge (or simple battery), which would be the likelier approach: the State Attorney files whichever charge it deems to be most effectively prosecutable through trial if need be. In other words, if a jury were to see this video, would it find it to be child abuse or battery?
But the State Attorney must also contend with the district’s and its own recent history of prosecuting students with felonies when they attack staff, most notably in the case of Brendan Depa, who brutalized his paraprofessional in February 2023 and is now serving five years in prison. So the State Attorney’s decision is not happening in a vacuum. Nor will the district’s, when it comes time to evaluating Andrews’s future there.
Andrews was released on $2,500 bond after her booking at the Flagler County jail. A no-contact order is in place regarding the alleged victim and one witness.
“I want to thank the Major Case Unit for a thorough investigation to ensure all facts were known while protecting the student from further assault,” Sheriff Rick Staly was quoted as saying in a release. “School employees have a difficult job in today’s environment, but this was an unprovoked assault, and the school district took immediate action to safeguard students from this aggressive employee. We will not tolerate attacks on a student regardless of who commits it. The District and the Sheriff’s Office are committed to ensuring a safe learning environment for everyone.”
The Flagler County Public School District released this statement, “The employee is on paid administrative leave pending further investigation.”
