Miami

Miami Beach Teacher Accused of Hitting Children Faces Judge

A Miami Beach preschool teacher accused of hitting young children faced a judge Friday.

Clara Quintero-Gonzalez, 54, was arrested Thursday on four counts of child abuse and one count of child neglect.

Detectives say the preschool teacher at Lincoln-Marti School on Jefferson Street in Miami Beach was seen hitting several toddlers.

"The defendant then maliciously pushed the child by slapping the 3-year-old's right arm twice," Miami-Dade Judge Mindy Glazer said in court Friday, reading the arrest report.

Glazer also watched a video from the surveillance cameras inside the school.

"I did not just witness an aggravated battery from what I observed," Glazer said, adding she only found probable cause for the child neglect charge.

Glazer ended up giving Quintero-Gonzalez a total bond of $25,000. She will be under house arrest if she bonds out and will also have to wear a GPS ankle monitor pending her next court date.

"The allegations deal with young children so everybody takes it seriously and it pulls on your heartstrings no matter what side you're on," defense attorney Jordan Redavid said.

The teacher's family was in court but left saying they had no comment.

Lincoln-Marti School released a statement Friday saying they immediately reported the allegation to police as soon as the incident occurred.

"Lincoln-Marti voluntarily provided video footage of the incident to police and has fully cooperated with the investigation since it began," the statement read. "Since its founding in 1968, the safety of the children in our care has been, and will continue to be, an overarching concern. Lincoln-Marti has an established policy prohibiting corporal punishment. Due to privacy considerations and to preserve the integrity of the investigative process we have no further comment at this time.

At the school Friday, a woman picking up a child said she wasn't worried about the allegations against the teacher and was in fact happy bringing her child to the school.

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