A Texas preschool teacher is behind bars after she allegedly grabbed a 5-year-old girl off her nap mat, swung her upside down by her feet, dropped her on her head — and then insulted her in front of the entire class.
Rachel Kirspel, 37, who worked at the Marshall Early Childhood Center in Harrison County, Texas, was arrested and charged with one count of injury to a child. The disturbing incident reportedly took place on May 14, in full view of the little girl’s classmates and another school employee.
“You are ugly as hell. You can tell your mama didn’t raise you right.” — What a witness says Kirspel told the 5-year-old child.
According to a criminal complaint, the trouble started during rest time when the child refused to stay still on her sleeping mat. That’s when Kirspel allegedly grabbed her, put her over her shoulder, and when that “didn’t work,” flipped her upside down and began swinging her side to side — until the child’s head struck the ground.
A fellow employee heard children screaming and rushed to the door. She says she saw Kirspel holding the girl upside down by her feet. When she yelled at Kirspel to stop, Kirspel finally flipped the child right-side-up. The little girl was “screaming and crying” and told Kirspel to put her down — and said she was not okay.
The child later told a forensic interviewer that her “head was down and her feet were up,” that her arm hurt, and that the teacher had called her “ugly.” Kirspel also allegedly told the girl she would be telling her mother that she “could not come back to school anymore because it is not safe.”
Marshall ISD confirmed the aide was “immediately removed” and terminated following the incident. Kirspel was booked into Harrison County Jail on a $50,000 bond. She later told police she had quit her job after the incident.
Parents and community members are outraged. A teacher is supposed to be a safe person for a child — especially a 5-year-old who is just learning to trust the world around her.
