According to charging documents, surveillance video showed her dragging the child by the hair and arm across the ground.
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A witness told an officer with HISD police that the incident allegedly started at Katherine Smith Elementary when the student refused to throw a fork away in the garbage, according to court documents.
The student was identified to ABC13 as Fany Castro by her mother, Patricia Saldana.
The witness also claimed to hear the 44-year-old teacher, Jenny Alicia Dominguez, tell the student in Spanish, "No seas chiflada," which means, "Don't be a brat." They described her behavior as "irrational" and "out of control."
Investigators said Dominguez could be seen on surveillance video grabbing Castro by the hair and arm, causing her to lose balance. The teacher then reportedly stood over the student and dragged her across the ground for a short distance to the trash can, documents read.
"It made me kind of furious at the teacher and school district, which is supposed to be a safe place for the kids to learn, play, and not to worry about anyone mistreating them," Saldana said.
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The child suffered a red, swollen arm with a small cut. But her mother said what you couldn't see was the emotional wound the alleged assault left behind.
"She doesn't feel safe. She tries to leave the school. She just doesn't seem like she was," Saldana said. "She was happy to go to school every day,"
In a statement to ABC13, a representative with Houston ISD wrote:
HISD takes these situations very seriously, and the safety and well-being of our students is always our absolute top priority. HISD PD was notified of an allegation of misconduct and the educator was immediately reassigned pending the outcome of the investigation. Due to the Family Education Rights Privacy Act and the pending investigation, HISD will not provide additional information.
Dominguez is listed as a dual-language kindergarten teacher on the Katherine Smith Elementary website.
She has been charged with a felony for injury to a child.
As of Friday evening, Dominguez has not been arrested or taken into custody.
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