MARION, Ohio — A Marion teacher is waiting for her day in court after a video reportedly shows her slapping a young child. She is charged with felony assault.
According to prosecutors, Jodi Grafmiller was caught on camera slapping a special needs student.
That child's mother, Page Fredrick, told 10TV that her daughter is a 7-year-old student at Hayes Elementary School. She lives with nonverbal autism.
In October, Fredrick emailed the station and asked us to dig into this issue.
After weeks of work, 10TV was able to get a copy of the video and upgraded court documents that are at the center of this case.
Here's what we learned:
Grafmiller was initially charged with two misdemeanors in the case, including endangering children and assault.
But weeks later, those charges were upgraded to one felony count of assault. Marion County Prosecuting Attorney Ray Grogan explained why.
"Ohio law says that if an individual who is a functionally impaired person is assaulted by an individual who was in the position of a caregiver, then that assault elevates to a felony under Ohio law," said Grogan.
Fredrick claimed that if another staff member hadn't reported this incident to school leaders, she may have never known that this happened.
"It was heart-wrenching. I was very upset, devastated. Like I have a nonverbal autistic child. One of my worst fears happened in a so-called safe place while I'm at work," she said.
Marion City Schools issued the following statement about the issue:
"The safety and well-being of our students is our top priority. We are currently investigating the situation at Hayes Elementary, and the teacher has been placed on leave during this process. To protect the privacy of all involved and due to the ongoing investigation, we are unable to share further details at this time."
Fredrick also told 10TV she's considering filing a civil suit.
According to court records, Grafmiller is due in court on Dec. 2.