ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. — An Orange County principal is under investigation following accusations she assaulted a student.
Endeavour Elementary School Principal Sharon Jenkins has been on the job since the alleged assault in January.
The 9-year-old student's parents said their son was grabbed and stepped on by Jenkins over a cellphone.
Raw: Parents of boy talk about principal's alleged assault
Channel 9 learned Orange County detectives will recommend felony battery charges against Sharon Jenkins, who is the sister-in-law of Orange County Public Schools' Superintendent, Barbara Jenkins.
"She isolated him, got him on his own, and attacked him. Twisted his arms and put him to the ground," said the alleged victim’s father, David Whiley.
The boy's parents admitted the third-grader was using his iPhone against school policy and would not hand it over to the principal when she asked him to.
"He's a 9-year-old who just got his new phone. He didn’t want to hand it over," Whiley said.
A school district investigation determined the allegations to be unconfirmed after Sharon Jenkins denied touching the boy.
She later told Department of Children and Families investigators she pushed the boy's arms inward, though no marks or bruises were left and the child did not require medical attention.
Sharon Jenkins has been in trouble before. In 2013, school investigators found she falsified class size reports.
Channel 9 asked district officials why Sharon Jenkins is still on the job while she is under a criminal investigation and was told the district has not been notified of any pending charges.
WFTV
