A special needs teacher at Lake Panasoffkee Elementary School has been arrested after allegedly handling students in an abusive manner.
A deputy assigned to Lake Panasoffkee Elementary School, located 790 N. CR 482, was notified of a Department of Children and Families investigation on Tuesday, according to an arrest report from the Sumter County Sheriff’s Office. It was reported to the abuse hotline on Monday.
The arrest report said that 40-year-old Stephanie Jean Arnott, a teacher for special needs children between the ages of three and five, was seen handling the students in an inappropriate and abusive manner.
Another deputy assigned to the case interviewed an undisclosed subject. On the morning of April 21, they observed Arnott use both hands to grab the head of a five-year-old special needs student. She then forcefully turned her head toward a television in the classroom. This happened twice, causing the victim to cry, the report said…