Alabama Teacher of Year Arrested for Child Abuse

A 44-year-old Alabama teacher honored as Teacher of the Year at her Christian academy was arrested and fired this week after a family member shared a video showing her striking her 12-year-old son more than 20 times with a belt in their home.

Randi Nicole Staples, a second-grade teacher at Cottage Hill Christian Academy in Mobile, faced charges of willful abuse of a child under 18 following the incident in Grand Bay, Alabama, according to the Mobile County Sheriff's Office. The video, recorded by one of Staples' other children, captured her instructing the boy to lie across a sofa before hitting him on his bottom and legs with the belt. The boy could be heard pleading and crying as Staples yelled profanities at him, including accusations that he was not sorry for creating extra work in the house by failing to complete chores properly. She also grabbed him by the hair during the assault, which authorities estimated lasted about 15 seconds and involved around 22 strikes.

The footage was sent to Staples' 24-year-old son, Jackson Staples, who no longer lives at home. Jackson Staples forwarded it to school officials at Cottage Hill Christian Academy, where his mother had been named...