BARTOW, Fla. - A Florida teacher was suspended, reassigned to a different school and now faces charges after being accused of biting two students over a jar of pickles.
A spokesperson with Polk County Public Schools in Bartow, Florida, said a complaint affidavit of two counts of battery was filed against Rhonda Rice, who used to be a teacher at Bartow Middle School.The school district said last November, two students reported that Rice bit their arms as they tried to grab a jar of pickles away from her.
Rice told the school district she was "playing both students over the jar of pickles" and when they grabbed it, she "licked their arms to get them off."RELATED: Prince William County teacher charged after alleged assault against studentOne of those students is Kathy Toro’s 15-year-old nephew.
She didn’t want to release his name to the media.Toro said her nephew and another student were putting up a jar of pickles, and Rice bit them both on their forearms to release the jar."My thoughts on the situation was, ‘What was she thinking!’" Toro told FOX Television Stations. "When the school notified us of the incident, we immediately took action and I wanted charges brought up against her."Toro said her nephew is doing fine but was "shocked, to say the least.""She needs to be put in jail and learn from her mistake," Toro continued. "She can’t put any part of herself on any child."Last December, the school district sent Rice a letter saying that she was suspended without pay for three days.