School teacher faces jail for kicking five-year-old girl in library

A Kansas teacher has been sentenced to a 30-day imprisonment and one-year probation after being found guilty of kicking a five-year-old girl in a school’s library.

The 55-year-old teacher, Crystal Smith, at Bluejacket-Flint Elementary School in the Shawnee Mission School District was seen on surveillance footage while kicking kindergartener.

The footage showed that Smith pulled out the girl who was hiding on a library shelf after other students have left. The teacher walked away and later kicked in the girl’s back after returning to her.

The incident took place in February last year led the girl’s mother to file a legal complaint after she spoke with the teacher about it, but Smith denied hurting the girl.

The teacher had claimed that the child was not being truthful and may have harmed herself.

After being contacted by the mother, the school officials watched the video and sent the teacher on leave and subsequently fired from her job after completing its investigation. The school district said 2019 was Smith’s first year teaching in the district.

The mother filed a lawsuit against Smith and the school district which stated that her daughter’s civil rights were violated and the district was negligent in Smith’s hiring, supervision, and training, KCTV reported.

Later, Crystal Smith was sentenced to a 30-day imprisonment and one-year probation after being found guilty of kicking a five-year-old girl. She was also ordered to attend anger management classes.