WASHINGTON — The former principal of a Virginia middle school faces misdemeanor assault charges after police say he smacked a 12-year-old girl on her buttocks in the school cafeteria this spring.
Fairfax County police said 53-year-old Terrence Eugene Yarborough of Woodbridge, Virginia, was charged with misdemeanor assault and battery charges stemming from an April 4 incident in the cafeteria of Carl Sandburg Middle School, which is in the Fort Hunt area of the county, near Alexandria.
A student was sitting with her friends in the cafeteria April 4 when Yarborough approached and asked her twice to pick something up off the floor, according to police. After the girl refused, police said Yarborough smacked her on her buttocks.
The student reported the incident to a teacher. The school’s resource officer, Child Protective Services and the Fairfax County school system were all notified, and Yarborough was placed on administrative leave. Police and the school system’s internal affairs department conducted parallel investigations, Fairfax police said.
In a statement, Fairfax County Schools said Yarborough was placed on administrative after the student reported the incident and that he resigned from the school system June 30. The school system will pursue efforts to revoke Yarborough’s teaching and administrator licenses after the criminal case if appropriate, according to the statement.
Yarborough is scheduled to appear in Fairfax County Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court Aug. 4.
