The Irmo Middle School teacher is indicted and accused of hitting students in two separate incidents

by Junna Base November 6, 2024

LEXINGTON COUNTY, SC (WIS) – An Irmo Middle School teacher was charged Wednesday after he was accused of hitting two students, one in March and the other in October.

According to arrest warrants from the Lexington County Sheriff’s Department (LCSD), 51-year-old Jermaine Cornelius Singletary punched the first student in March after he thought they touched his head.

Singletary allegedly struck the student in the chest and injured him.

“Of course you’re going to get slapped if you try that again,” Singletary reportedly said in a classroom about a week or two after the incident. “Everyone risks getting a slap in the face for something like this.”

Another arrest warrant states that Singletary beat another student in October after he retrieved part of a homework assignment that the teacher had thrown in the trash. Singletary allegedly walked up to the victim, struck him twice in the shoulder with his open hand, and took the object from the victim to throw it back in the trash.

According to the warrant, the victim said he was told, “If you have something to say; Say it to my face,” during an argument with Singletary after the incident.

Sheriff Koon said Singletary did not report either incident to school administrators.

Singletary turned himself in Wednesday morning and was charged with two counts of third-degree assault. He was taken to the Lexington County Detention Center.

Lexington-Richland School District 5 issued the following statement:

“The Fifth School District of Lexington and Richland Counties received notification that a district employee had been arrested. We are cooperating fully with law enforcement in the investigation and the employee is on administrative leave. Because this criminal investigation is ongoing, all questions should be directed to the Lexington County Sheriff’s Department.”

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