Manatee Co. teacher, teacher's aide face charges of false imprisonment for tying up 7-year-old
Bradenton police arrested an elementary school teacher Tuesday evening for false imprisonment of a 7-year-old, non-verbal student after arrest warrants were issued for her and a teacher's aide.
In a news release posted to Facebook Tuesday, detectives informed the community they obtained warrants to arrest Carina Chindamo, 31, and Taylor Internicola, 39. Both women worked at G.D. Rogers Garden-Bullock Elementary School.
Surveillance video from the school's playground from Feb. 2 showed Internicola, a teacher's aide, bring the 7-year-old student to the playground, according to a probable cause affidavit. The video shows the student's left hand was restrained by a nylon walking rope which Internicola then wrapped around the leg of a chair that Chindamo, an Exceptional Student Education teacher, was sitting on.
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It appeared that Chindamo used her weight to keep the student from getting free, according to the news release. The 7-year-old sat on the ground behind the chair for approximately an hour. About 30 minutes into sitting on the ground, according to the affidavit, the student was able to free their hand, but continued to sit behind the chair. When Chindamo noticed the student was not restrained, she tied the student's hands up again using three different knots, according to the affidavit.
Shortly after the initial news release was posted to the Bradenton Police Department's Facebook page, the post was updated stating that Chindamo had been arrested.
According to the affidavit, Chindamo agreed to speak with police after she was read her Miranda Rights and told detectives she'd been a teacher for seven years and had been at the elementary school for approximately two years.
"The Defendant explained that she has been using this method since the beginning of the school year in order to move from locations within the school," the affidavit stated. "The Defendant further advised the Victim has previously attempted to flee the school grounds."
When asked if the student had ever successfully escaped from school grounds, Chindamo responded that there was one occasion, but the student only got as far as the school parking lot.
It is noted in the affidavit that the detective observed a chain link fence surrounded the property and confirmed that any access gate in the area remains secure during the school day.
Chindamo further told investigators she had received training on restraining children and that restraining was done if a child was in danger of being a harm to themselves or others, according to the affidavit.
Chindamo then requested a lawyer and detectives asked no further questions.
The Manatee County School District released a statement regarding the incident and indicated that school district officials were fully cooperating with law enforcement during the investigation. Further, the statement noted that all of the district's protocols were followed, including immediately removing the employees from the classroom after the incident was reported.
The employees were reassigned to another district location where students are not present, according to the statement.
"The highest priority of the School District of Manatee County is student safety," the statement said. "While we do not typically comment on matters which are currently being investigated by law enforcement or the State Attorney’s Office, the Bradenton Police Department has announced warrants for the arrest of an exceptional student education teacher and an aide for their conduct involving one of our students at Rogers Garden-Bullock Elementary. The details of this incident, as described in the Bradenton Police Department Press Release, are disturbing and reprehensible."
Police said the investigation is active and they are working to determine if there are other victims. Police ask that if anyone has information about the case to contact Det. Dalia Santana at dalia.santana@bradentonpd.com or the Bradenton Police Department at 941-932-9300. Tips can also be submitted anonymously to Crime Stoppers at manateecrimestoppers.com or 866-634-8477 (TIPS).
Gabriela Szymanowska covers the legal system for the Herald-Tribune in partnership with Report for America. You can support her work with a tax-deductible donation to Report for America. Contact Gabriela Szymanowska at gszymanowska@gannett.com, or on X: @GabrielaSzyman3.
This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: Bradenton police arrest teacher, warrant issued for teacher's aide
