PINELLAS COUNTY, Fla. (WFLA) — A pair of Head Start teachers in Pinellas County were arrested over the weekend after being accused of roughly treating the children in their care, deputies said.
The Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office said Kimberly Ann Nicotra, 52, of Seminole and Jacqueline Alers, 53, of St. Petersburg were both charged with child abuse for the treatment of the students.
Affidavits describe multiple incidents in which Alers forcibly grabbed students to make them to sit on the ground.
In one instance, Alers was accused of grabbing a student multiple times to sit him on the ground before swinging him in a circle and forcing him to sit in her lap. Another affidavit said that Alers grabbed a girl by her shirt and her face while yelling at her before shoving the child.
Meanwhile, Nicotra was charged for allegedly grabbing a boy by the arm and dragged him to where other children were, deputies said.
None of the children suffered injuries in the incidents, according to the sheriff’s office.
