Teacher Indicted After Slapping Student in the Head

ABILENE, TX – An elementary teacher in the Abilene ISD was indicted on Thursday after allegedly slapping a student in the head.

Abilene Police Department received multiple reports of in November about Ngozika Ughanze, 56, slapping a student at an elementary school. According to KTXS, a court document stated that Ughanze was reportedly attempting to discipline the child.

Abilene ISD released the following statement:

"The Abilene ISD has been informed of the indictment of Ngozika Ughanze for an incident in a Lee Elementary School English as a Second Language (ESL) classroom that occurred in November of 2017, when she was accused of slapping a student on the face once. On the day of the incident, as soon as the District administration learned of the allegations, Ms. Ughanze was removed from contact with students. The District acted appropriately and swiftly to ensure student safety while it conducted its own investigation and cooperated with the criminal authorities. Since that time, Ms. Ughanze has not been in a position that required any contact with students while we awaited the decisions of the criminal authorities. The District fully cooperated in the investigation conducted by the Abilene Police Department and respects the decisions of the District Attorney and the grand jury. The information provided by the grand jury will now assist the District in making its decisions related to Ms. Ughanze’s employment. The District fully intends to respect Ms. Ughanze’s legal rights and the rights of the affected students as we complete this process."

Ughanze was indicted for injury to a child. She was arrested and released the same day on a $20,000 bond.