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A teacher in Lenor County, North Carolina is being charged after video footage captured her whipping a student with what appeared to be a long extension cord. Authorities said the assault happened in a classroom at South Lenoir High School on March 29, according to local news station WITN.
In the video, the teacher identified as Patricia Graham hit the student twice with a wrapped extension cord. The student could be seen holding his left arm out to block the hit. Toward the end of the clip, Graham scolds the student, yelling at him to “sit down.”
North Carolina officials said two students, ages 16 and 17, were struck by the teacher.
Eli Day, a student enrolled at South Lenoir told WITN, “I heard one of them was sleeping, and that’s why they got hit with the extension chord because they were sleeping.”
Graham resigned from her position shortly after the incident
Officials from the school’s administration have reviewed the startling video. They have also “communicated with the parents of the students involved,” authorities said.
Graham, 71, was charged with simple assault. She has since resigned from her position.
Sources said Graham taught at South Lenor High School from 1976 to 2013 when she retired. She came back to teach part-time a year later.
“This video deeply disturbed me,” Sheriff Jackie Rogers said in a statement. “I am proud of our sheriff’s office personnel who immediately responded to this and I commend them for their investigation that resulted in this arrest.”
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