Elementary principal caught on camera assaulting student in classroom, Florida cops say

An elementary school principal trapped a student in a classroom for over 40 minutes, put him in a chokehold and hit him, Florida cops say.

A teacher was the first to report the incident when she heard screaming coming from a classroom and saw the principal, identified as Dontay Akeem Prophet, “slam” the child on the floor, according to an arrest affidavit.

McClatchy News reached out to the school, Destiny Leadership Academy, for comment on May 14 but did not immediately receive a response. Prophet’s attorney information is not available in court records as of May 14.

The May 10 incident at the Ocala Christian school was caught on video, the Marion County Sheriff’s Office said.

Authorities shared three minutes of footage from the classroom that begins with the 33-year-old principal talking to the student.

As the student pushes his chair back and turns his body away from the principal, Prophet begins grabbing him and pulling him back, the footage shows.

The two begin struggling and end up on the floor, with Prophet on top of him. The child gets to his feet and tries to run away, but the principal grabs his arm, the video shows.

Prophet is accused of putting the child in a chokehold, slapping him in the face and hitting him with a computer charger that gave the child a welt on his forehead, among other actions.

The teacher witnessed part of the assault and told other school officials, who then found the surveillance footage of the incident and called the police, according to the affidavit.

When a deputy spoke to Prophet, he informed the principal the entire interaction was caught on camera.

Prophet told the deputy the child had threatened to harm himself, and initially he began touching him to get his attention.

He was charged with aggravated child abuse and false imprisonment of a child under 13, records show.

Ocala is about an 80-mile drive northwest from downtown Orlando.

This story was originally published May 14, 2024 at 2:02 PM with the headline "Elementary principal caught on camera assaulting student in classroom, Florida cops say."