A South Carolina teacher at Lemira Elementary School, Sharon Louise Benson, was arrested after allegedly slapping a student in an attempt to wake them up. The incident took place on January 6, 2025. Benson was arrested on Tuesday, January 14, 2025, after a thorough investigation by the Sumter Police Department (SPD), according to WIS 10.
The Incident: What Happened?
According to an incident report, the victim, a student who had fallen asleep in another teacher’s classroom, was reportedly pushed into a hallway by Benson, a teacher at the same school. The child claimed that Benson then attempted to wake them up by poking their chest multiple times before allegedly slapping them twice on the side of the face. The slap caused the student to fall, hitting their head on the ground.
Security footage reviewed by the police shows the student being moved into an office-type chair, and Benson following them shortly after. The footage allegedly captured Benson attempting to wake the student by tapping them before the fast-slaps occurred, causing the student to fall off the chair.
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The incident only came to light when the victim’s aunt was notified of the situation on January 8, two days after the incident. Shocked by the alleged assault, the aunt immediately spoke out. She stated, “This should never happen in South Carolina and this should never happen to anyone’s child in any school anywhere in the world.”
Attorney Todd Rutherford, representing the victim’s family, expressed his dismay, emphasizing the severity of the situation.
“For a child to literally be sitting and be assaulted by a teacher so hard that they fall to the floor, it’s disturbing as a parent, it’s disturbing as a lawmaker, and it’s disturbing as a lawyer.”
Rutherford added that the school’s decision to turn the case over to law enforcement was a necessary step, but now the focus must shift to helping the child heal from the trauma of the incident.
