Vicious fight between 17-year-old female student, female teacher leads to student's arrest; teacher placed on leave



A 17-year-old female high school student was arrested and a female high school teacher was placed on leave after the pair engaged in a vicious fight this week in a Tallahassee, Florida, school cafeteria that was recorded on cellphone video.

The Leon County Sheriff's Office confirmed the arrest of the student from Lincoln High School, the Tallahassee Democrat reported.

The teen also faces student discipline up to expulsion as part of the district's student code of conduct, the paper reported.

You can view cellphone video of the fight here.

The paper said several students recorded portions of the fight, which commenced around 12:30 p.m. Wednesday during lunchtime. Concerned parents also shared video of the fight on social media, the paper added.

Leon County School District officials told the paper the fight began after a student attacked a hall monitor and took her phone.

The video of the fight shows a large crowd of students in the cafeteria surrounding a woman and a student wrestling on the ground, the paper said, adding that the woman appears to kick the student off her. Several students manage to break up the fight, pulling the pair apart, the paper said, but as the student walks away, the woman searches for the student, finds her, and re-engages in the fight, pulling the student's hair while the student punches the woman. School officials confirmed to the paper that the video shows the end of the fight.

The student was arrested and taken to the Leon Juvenile Detention Center, the paper said, adding that she was charged with attempted robbery by sudden snatching and battery of a school official, both of which are felonies.

"We are still reviewing the video, and it is still very much an open investigation," LCSO communications director Shonda Knight added to the paper.

The teen also faces student discipline up to expulsion as part of the district's student code of conduct, the paper reported.

The school staff member is on leave pending the outcome of the investigation, the paper said.

Assistant Principal Jennifer Tibbitts emailed parents through the school system's FOCUS portal at 1:50 p.m. Thursday to inform them of the fight, the paper noted.

"Today at lunch there was an incident involving a student and staff member. Other school staff and our school resource officers responded immediately. This incident is being investigated by Leon County Sheriff's office and will be handled accordingly," the message said, according to the paper.

Leon County Sheriff Walt McNeil, Schools Superintendent Rocky Hanna, and school board members had announced Wednesday — prior to the fight — a tour of district high schools to discuss safety and security concerns with students, the paper said, adding that a visit to Lincoln High was scheduled for Friday. The status of that visit in light of the fight was not clear.

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Teacher hit with maximum sentence after she's found guilty of having sex in classroom with 8th-grade boy on graduation day



A former teacher in California has been hit with a maximum prison sentence after being found guilty of child sex abuse of an eighth-grade student on his graduation day, according to authorities.

The Gridley Police Department arrested Michelle Christine Solis, 46, in November 2023 after a concerned parent claimed "explicit photographs" of a Gridley Unified School District teacher were "circulating among students."

The attorney for the former teacher argued that she should receive probation because the incident was only 'one act.'

Butte County District Attorney Mike Ramsey said Solis was having an illegal sexual relationship with one of her eighth-grade students at Sycamore Junior High School.

Solis allegedly “friended” the minor on Instagram and later sent the boy explicit photos of herself.

"Evidence showed Solis sent the boy four explicit photos of herself before having sexual intercourse with him in her classroom on the day of the boy’s 8th-grade graduation," the DA's office said.

Investigators allegedly verified the accusations by reviewing messages on the victim's cell phone; the teacher reportedly instructed the boy to delete their communications. Solis also gave the student "special treatment" in school, according to the DA's office.

Solis was charged with one count of unlawful sexual intercourse with a minor under the age of 16. After she pleaded no contest, Butte County Superior Court Judge Michael Deems sentenced Solis to the maximum term: four years in state prison. Solis also must register as a sex offender and cannot contact the victim for 10 years.

The attorney for the former teacher argued that she should receive probation because the incident was only "one act." However, the DA's office said the sentence was appropriate due to the 29-year age difference between the minor and Solis, her position as a trusted member of the community, and a pattern of conduct that amounted to "grooming."

Judge Deems said at the sentencing, "The manner in which the crime was carried out demonstrated criminal sophistication in that the defendant groomed the victim in order to get the victim in a situation for sexual contact. The court finds that there is a factual basis for the plea, and it is the judgment of this court that the defendant is guilty of that offense."

Solis had been a teacher with the Gridley Unified School District for 20 years, according to police.

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