COLUMBUS, Ga. (WTVM) - A Muscogee County teacher is facing a charge of simple battery following an incident with a middle school student.
Jody Russell appeared in recorder’s court Thursday morning and entered a plea of not guilty.
The case was swiftly bound to state court with no additional context given surrounding the charge. A statement from the Muscogee County School district confirmed the district was aware of a misdemeanor charge involving Russell.
A parent – Katrina Robinson – attended court this morning and says she was called by Fort Middle School administrators on November 5 and told an incident involving her son and Russell occurred earlier in the day.
Robinson claims her son was choked.
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A statement from the school district confirms an investigation was launched following an incident involving Russell – but refutes that a student was choked – reading, quote, “That is not consistent with the facts and the video evidence gathered by MCSD.”
Robinson said she was told the incident was captured on camera, but says she has not been given access to watch the video.
“My son has a disability. He’s down syndrome. He’s non-verbal. He can’t tell me is someone is doing something wrong to him. He’s a sweet child. A sweet child. He’s been in her classroom going on two years,” said Robinson.
Below is a statement from the district confirming that Russell was in court related to the incident with the student:
The Muscogee County School District (MCSD) is aware that one of its teachers, Ms. Jody Russell, appeared in court today related to an incident that occurred more than a month ago. MCSD promptly conducted a thorough investigation into the incident. The investigation included interviewing eyewitnesses and reviewing video footage. Appropriate personnel action was taken in November based on the findings of that investigation.
MCSD will fully cooperate with the State Solicitor’s Office as it reviews and addresses the misdemeanour charges filed by the parents. MCSD will continue to closely monitor the situation; however, there is no new information that would lead the district to alter the decisions made in November regarding the teacher’s conduct or employment status.
MCSD is now also aware that the parents of the student have described the event to the media as a teacher choking a student. MCSD disagrees with that description. That is not consistent with the facts and video evidence gathered by MCSD.
To protect the privacy of the student, to maintain the confidentiality of personnel matters, and to respect the ongoing legal process under the purview of the Solicitor’s Office, MCSD is unable to provide further details at this time.
— Muscogee County School District
Russell is still employed with the Muscogee County School District, according to officials.
Russell and her attorney declined to comment after today’s court appearance.
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