Background: Ruby Falls in Lookout Mountain, Tenn. (Google Maps). Inset: Heather Pecht (Chattanooga Police Department).
A Tennessee woman who works as an elementary school teacher was accused by her own children of hurting them, police say.
Heather Pecht, 47, was arrested by Chattanooga Police Department officers on Friday and charged with two counts of child neglect. According to court documents obtained by local news outlet Chattanoogan.com, Pecht”s two younger children told their father that their mother had allegedly attacked them while they were in the car at Ruby Falls in Lookout Mountain, Tennessee, on Friday. The father reportedly noticed healing scratches on his children’s hands and asked them what happened. The children allegedly said that Pecht was responsible for their injuries.
According to court documents, Pecht’s two younger children were in the back seat of the car in the parking lot at Ruby Falls. When Pecht’s phone made its way to the back seat, Pecht reportedly yelled at the children to return her phone. As the children tried to return the phone, Pecht allegedly pinched and scratched one of the children. During the alleged attack, the other child was bitten by Pecht as he tried to protect his sibling.
The children’s father, who lives separately from Pecht, called police when his children were returned to him. Officers responded to his home on Friday night, and the father told them that he had reported Pecht’s allegedly abusive behavior in the past, but nothing was ever done. The former couple’s oldest child lives with the father because he “does not want to be around his mother,” the court documents said.
Police said all three children told officers that the alleged abuse by Pecht had been “happening for years, and occurs about once a week.” Officers also noted the same injuries on the children that their father saw. The father and three children all sat for interviews with the Child Advocacy Center and provided the same details. He was granted emergency custody of all three children.
Birmingham, Alabama-based ABC affiliate WBMA reported that Pecht is employed as a first-grade teacher at Lookout Mountain Elementary School. Hamilton County Schools did not provide a comment on her employment status.
Pecht was arrested on Friday and charged with two counts of child neglect. She posted bond and is scheduled to appear in court again on Jan. 27, 2026.
