CARAWAY, AR (KAIT/AP) -
A parent accused of assaulting three children at a Caraway elementary
school appeared in court Monday.
According to the Craighead
County Prosecutor's Office, 47-year-old Michael Stayton did not enter a
plea and has a tentative trial date set for June 4th.
Stayton, of Caraway, is
charged with three counts of second degree battery, three counts of false
imprisonment, and one count of first degree terroristic threatening after
Caraway police say he attacked three third graders in a classroom on
September 18, 2012.
Riverside Public Schools
Superintendent Tommy Knight said Stayton was at the school because he had eaten
lunch with his daughter.
Superintendent Knight said
Stayton went into a classroom during the students' transition from lunch back
to class to confront a student Stayton believed had mistreated his daughter.
Stayton prevented three
students from leaving a classroom with the intention of targeting one of the
students, and all three students were injured during the incident, according to
police.
"What I've been told
is that he felt like one of those children had been mean to his daughter, and
began to chase him around the room. One kid was knocked over, another kid was
kicked. This kid was caught and hands put around his throat, said
Superintendent Knight.
The three students'
individual witness statements to police detail Stayton's actions in the
classroom. The students said:
- Stayton grabbed one of the students by the neck and
said, "What are you doing here? You should be in heaven."
- Stayton told a student he was "so ugly he needed
to take pain pills."
- Stayton called the students' moms fat.
- Stayton hit one of the students with a lunchbox.
- Stayton blocked the classroom door so the students
could not exit the room.
- Stayton told one of the students he was going to stab
him the next time he saw him.
"He finally got
a hold of (student's name withheld)
then he choked him, pulled him by the ears, and then he went after (student's name withheld) and
kicked him in the leg," said nine-year-old Ezy Turner, one of the students
who was in the class during the incident.
Turner said Stayton pushed him and he fell. Mary
Turner, Ezy's mom, took him to a doctor who confirmed Ezy broke his arm in the
fall.
Supt. Knight said administrators contacted parents
once police interviewed the students about what happened, and is re-evaluating
the protocol for allowing students and visitors in and out of the buildings,
and is considering hiring a school resource officer.
Region 8 News will continue to track this story and
bring you any new details as soon as they become available.
Copyright 2013 KAIT. All
rights reserved. The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Ezy Turner said Stayton pushed him and he fell.
Michael Stayton (Source: Craighead County Sheriff's Department)
Allcontent ©Copyright 2000 - 2013 WorldNow and KAIT, aRaycom Media Station.
