Mom says teacher put her four-year-old child in a dark closet as punishment

TEXAS CITY, Texas (KTRK) -- A Texas City teacher is being investigated after a mom says her 4-year-old was put in a dark closet as a punishment.

Little Leiondra Thomas has learned a lot since joining the Head Start program at the Mall of the Mainland. But Wednesday, something traumatic happened.

The little girl said her teacher put her in a closet as punishment.

"She didn't give me no chair, she just let me stand in there," said Leiondra.

"After I got off work, she told me the teacher locked her in the closet because she was crying," said Leiondra's mother, Ashley Davis.

The little girl's mother complained to the agency running the Galveston County Head Start program.

The teacher and her supervisor were both put on administrative leave.

"The teacher has indicated she did not do that and the parent said she did. So what we have done is put the teacher on administrative leave until we have a chance to investigate," said program administrator Melvin Williams.

The investigation is expected to be concluded by Monday, at which point Leiondra's mom says she will decide whether to keep her daughter in the Head Start program.

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