Florida Injury Lawyer Blawg
A substitute teacher is accused of asking multiple students in her elementary school’s classroom to hit another child, then allowing the beating to take place.
Geanene Che’rrie White, 57, was charged March 1 with one count of child abuse and four counts of contributing to the delinquency of a minor. White’s child abuse charge is a third-degree felony that, if convicted, could result in a five-year prison sentence and/or a $5,000 fine. Contributing to the delinquency of a minor is a first-degree misdemeanor that can carry a penalty of up to one year in jail, a year of probation and/or a $1,000 fine.
The incident happened while White was subbing for a class at YMCA Tiger Academy, an elementary school in Jacksonville, Florida, on Feb. 12. As she was asking the class to separate into small groups to complete their work, one student did not cooperate.
White is accused of asking the class “who in here can beat him up?” according to reporting from the Miami Herald.
Four students are said to have raised their hands and White allegedly allowed them to take turns hitting the child. Afterwards, White pushed the boy and he hit his head on a desk, the newspaper reported.
White then called in staff and said the child needed “behavioral assistance” but left out the part about the alleged fight. Later, students told school officials what happened. When speaking with police on March 1, according to previous reporting, White told police that she “tried to pick him up from the ground after two fights” erupted in the classroom.
The child allegedly had cuts and bruises around his ear. White was fired from her role as a substitute teacher, officials with the First Coast YMCA, which oversees the operations of YMCA Tiger Academy, told the newspaper in a statement.
White was released on bail Thursday, jail records show.
Information on how old the children in the class are was not immediately available on Friday.
Leesfield & Partners: A History of Representing Clients Against Violence
Most people expect darkened alleyways or lone streets with one, flickering streetlight to be the setting for criminal activity. In reality, armed robberies, assaults and other violent crimes can happen anywhere. Leesfield & Partners, a personal injury law firm in Florida with nearly five decades of experience, knows this better than most. Since 1976, the firm has handled numerous negligent security cases for injured clients in Florida, securing multiple record verdicts and settlements for clients. Over the years, the firm has become a trusted source of legal representation, helping victims and grieving families navigate their way through the courts in search of justice.
For many victims of crimes and their families, the wounds left behind by criminal activity can last far longer than the physical abuse they suffered. Post-traumatic stress disorder and the emotional turmoil of navigating a “new normal” following a permanent injury can all be incredibly taxing for victims moving forward. At Leesfield & Partners our attorneys understand that our clients have been through something traumatic and they handle each negligent security case with the respect, compassion and kindness that is owed to victims, survivors and family members alike while also aggressively pursuing the best possible outcome for clients.
Previous Cases
In negligent security cases, Leesfield & Partners has obtained over $100 million in combined settlements and verdicts for injured clients. In a historic Monroe County case handled by the firm, a woman was brutally attacked by a man carrying a hammer who entered a resort parking garage where he was allowed to roam undetected. Our client suffered serious and permanent injuries to her face and head.
The hotel entered into a confidential settlement with our client the night before a $40.58 million verdict was handed down against the remaining defendant. This marks the largest verdict in Monroe County history.
Partner Justin B. Shapiro secured a $16 million recovery for a husband and wife who were brutally beaten at a Miami hotel with a known history of violent crime. The wife in that case was not only viciously beaten but raped and sexually assaulted. The attack, which lasted about 15 horrific minutes, was witnessed by hotel employees and security, all who did nothing to intervene.
The hotel’s history of violence was known by management who were advised to hire armed security by both police and a security company. Out of greed and to save money, this advice was ignored.
The firm secured a $15 million in a negligent security case at an apartment complex that tragically resulted in the wrongful death of our client’s loved one.
In a confidential negligent security case handled by the firm, our attorneys obtained a $3.25 million recovery amount for our injured client.
The firm also handled the case of a client who was shot at an unguarded ATM. The client in that case became paralyzed as a result. The firm secured $3 million for the injured client.
For a store employee who was raped and robbed at a Florida shopping mall, Leesfield & Partners secured $1.13 million.
A woman working as a maid at a Monroe County hotel was raped by a man who was allowed to be on the property despite the fact that he was not a guest. The man was left alone, allowing him to sleep by the pool and use drugs. He was not approached by security or any of the other staff at the hotel and was allowed to roam the property for hours before he entered a room that our client was cleaning and attacked her.
The firm secured a $1 million settlement in that case.
The firm also has a history of protecting children and, in addition to litigating personal injury cases involving minors, the firm regularly contributes to local charities focusing on children’s issues. Through The Leesfield Family Foundation, the charitable foundation of Ira Leesfield, his wife, Cynthia, and their daughter, Jennifer, numerous organizations dedicated to child sex abuse prevention are supported annually.
Leesfield & Partners recently secured confidential settlements for four individuals who were abused as children by a member of the clergy at their parochial primary and middle schools. As a result of the abuse, these individuals suffered significant trauma that followed them into adulthood, affecting every aspect of their lives.
The firm secured an $8.6 million recovery for a camper abused by a counselor at a well-known Florida summer camp. Camp officials failed to recognize the obvious signs of the counselor’s disturbed behavior, allowing this individual continued access to the children in their care.
A prestigious Florida high school was held accountable when they were made to pay several multi-million-dollar reparations thanks to the work of Leesfield & Partners. The perpetrator in that case was a teacher at the school who was a serial sexual abuser and targeted multiple students at the school.
A confidential settlement was obtained by Leesfield & Partners on behalf of a child who was sexually abused while traveling with an airline. The child was flying as an unaccompanied minor and was meant to be under the watch of flight attendants. During the flight, the child was sexually abused by another passenger.
The firm previously recovered $650,000 for a child who was sexually abused at a youth center.
