Kemp ISD teacher arrested for injury to a child

KEMP, Texas - A teacher for a Kaufman County school district was arrested for allegedly abusing a student.

Melissa McDaniels is charged with injury to a child.

The child's parents tell FOX 4 that McDaniels used force against their son during an attempt to discipline him in a classroom.

The child’s parents say another teacher who witnessed this incident is the one who reported it to the school. A day later, the teacher resigned.

Both parents were invited to the school to watch surveillance video of the incident. That video is now in the hands of the Kaufman County District Attorney’s Office.

McDaniels resigned from her position at Kemp Primary School earlier this month following an internal investigation, according to Kemp ISD. The former special education teacher now faces a felony charge of injury to a child.

Todd and Brodie Sexton tell FOX 4 the child is their 6-year-old son. The parents did not want to share their child’s name or show his face. They say the kindergartener is diagnosed with ADHD. 

Melissa McDaniels (Kaufman County SO)

"For him, to be in that program as special needs, to attack him like that and throw him around like he’s nothing," Todd said.

Brodie said the school had been calling her more frequently since March saying her son was having behavioral issues. She says his sleep was inconsistent at home.

Kemp ISD says it learned about a concerning incident involving McDaniels on May 1. 

The next day on May 2, Brodie says the district informed her McDaniels no longer worked for the school. 

The district says it was moving to fire McDaniels, but she resigned before that happened.

The mom says she checked her son's body and found marks around his armpit. 

"I was told that it was in the best interest of the school and the students that she no longer work there," Brodie said. "Come to find out she put her hands on him. I did not know to what extent."

Both parents say they were then invited to the school to watch surveillance video, which hasn’t been released publicly.

The school and law enforcement have not confirmed what they describe seeing on the video.

"He’s acting up and standing on a desk," the mom said. "And she walks towards him, and he jumps off the desk. She was behind her desk. She yanks him by the arm as she did that. He slammed into the wall around like this and then falls in front of the desk he was standing on."

Brodie says they were then shown a second piece of video since the struggle continued into a neighboring room. 

"She’s got her arm like around his neck. He is trying to get away. He is saying, ‘I hate you!  I hate you!’ He gets away," the mom said. "She is invading his personal space. Instead of letting him calm down, she is egging it down and chasing him. He turns around, and he tries to kick her. She swipes his leg and lifts it up, and he lands straight on his butt."

"She shoved him back. That’s why he went to kick," Todd said.

Kaufman County sheriff’s deputies arrested McDaniels on Wednesday, May 8. According to online records, she bonded out shortly after. 

"Especially with someone with that many years of experience. That person being older and doing that to a 6-year-old child," Todd said.

FOX 4 reached out to McDaniels, but she declined to comment.