Florida police have arrested an elementary school teacher and are looking for a teacher’s aide after they were seen on video tying a non-verbal student to a chair and holding him there for an hour.
Bradenton police initially said they had obtained warrants for Exceptional Student Education teacher Carina Chindamo, 31, and aide Taylor Internicola, 39, after security cameras in the G.D. Rogers Garden-Bullock Elementary School playground showed them tying the wrists of a 7-year-old boy with a nylon rope then wrapping it around the leg of a chair.
The warrants charged the pair with false imprisonment of a child under 13.
“The child sat on the ground behind the chair, restrained, for approximately one hour,” police said. “At various times in the video, Chindamo and Internicola were observed sitting on the chair, appearing to use their weight to keep the child from getting free.”
At 8:15 p.m., the department posted that Chindamo was in custody.
Manatee County jail records say that Chindamo was also arrested on Monday on a battery charge and released Tuesday on a $500 bond. It’s not clear if that charge is related to the school incident, which took place on Friday.
Police said the case was still under investigation, and they were working to determine if any other children had been so treated.
Anyone with information should contact Detective Dalia Santana at [email protected] or the Bradenton Police Department at 941-932-9300. Submit tips anonymously to Crime Stoppers at manateecrimestoppers.com or 866-634-8477 (TIPS).<
For the latest true crime and justice news, subscribe to the ‘Crime Stories with Nancy Grace’ podcast.
[Featured image: Carina Chindamo/Manatee County Sheriff’s Office]
