TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) — A Tampa middle school principal and his wife, who taught at Plant High School, have been rehired after being cleared of child abuse charges.
Coleman Middle School principal Michael Hoskinson, 53, and his wife Kimberly Hoskinson, 49, a Plant High School teacher, were each arrested on a charge of child abuse on Nov. 13, 2017.
Now, the couple has been exonerated and the charges against them have been dropped by the State Attorney. According to a statement from the State Attorney’s Office, they decided to drop the charges after finding out that “a key witness fabricated and manipulated evidence and that there was not credible evidence to pursue the charges.”
An attorney for the Hoskinsons, Rick Escobar, believes there shouldn’t have even been an arrest because he says there was a rush to judgment.In response to the attorney’s comments, the Tampa Police Department issued this statement:
The Tampa Police Department made arrests in the Hoskinson case based on probable cause and in the interest of protecting a victim. As is standard in such cases, the investigation continued after the arrest. As a result of that thorough investigation new information came to light, which resulted in the actions announced by the State Attorneys Office today.
Both educators resigned from their positions after their arrests, but have since been reinstated as employees of Hillsborough County Public Schools.
In a statement, the district said it is “sensitive to everything the Hoskinsons have gone through” and says their positions within the district have not been determined yet.
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