A first-grade Tennessee teacher is facing charges after Chattanooga police say she abused her own children.
The alleged incident happened in the Ruby Falls parking lot, at 1720 S. Scenic Highway in Chattanooga, on December 12. The children’s father contacted police concerning the children’s mother, identified as Heather Pecht, News Channel 9 reports.
According to an arrest affidavit, the father told responding officers that he picked his two youngest children up and noticed injuries on them. The children told him that Pecht caused the injuries.
The man added that he had been trying to report other instances of abuse for years, and that police in Dunlap and Marion County didn’t follow through with assistance.
He also stated that his oldest child lives with him because he “does not want to be around his mother.’
The responding officers spoke with the two children, who reportedly said that Pecht started screaming at them when her phone fell in her car’s back seat. She then allegedly scratched and pinched them while they tried to hand her the phone.
The oldest child exited the vehicle, but Pecht allegedly bit him on the hand while he tried to push her away. The children told police that abuse had been “happening for years, and occurs about once a week,” the Chattanoogan reports.
Local 3 News reports that the officers found injuries on the children that were consistent with their statements.
Pecht is now facing two counts of child abuse and scheduled for a January 27 court hearing.
The children later underwent forensic interviews at a Child Advocacy Center. Their father has been granted emergency custody.
Pecht reportedly works at Lookout Mountain Elementary School in Hamilton County. The status of her employment is currently unclear.
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[Feature Photo via Chattanooga PD]
