An elementary school teacher with the Los Angeles Unified School District who has been accused of placing a plastic bag over a student’s head in class was charged with a single count of child abuse Friday, officials said.
The charge came two days after the Los Angeles Police Department arrested 37-year-old Thelmo Garcia, a fourth-grade teacher at Rosewood Elementary School near West Hollywood.
During the Feb. 5 incident, Garcia allegedly placed the bag over a 10-year-old girl’s head and left it on for several seconds before removing it, according to a news release from the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office.
A brief statement released by LAUSD on Thursday said that Garcia was removed from the school last month. His profile has already been taken down from the elementary school’s website.
Garcia was arraigned at the Foltz Criminal Justice Center in downtown L.A. on Friday and pleaded not guilty to the charge, according to the DA’s office.
He was being held on $100,000.
Garcia faces up to six year in state prison if convicted on the charge.