Florida Teacher Arrested: Student Forced To Unclog Urinal With Bare Hands

A Florida teacher was arrested on Wednesday for allegedly forcing a 10 year-old student to clean a clogged urinal with his bare hands. The teacher, Jennifer Forshey, was released on $1,000 bail and told reporters that she felt she, “did not do anything illegal.” Forshey, 58, admitted to having the child unclog the urinal, but did not see anything wrong with it until her arrest.

The incident that led to the South Florida teacher’s arrest happened on February 6 at Broward Community Charter School. Forshey discovered that a urinal had become clogged in the restroom and believed the boy had done it. Although his name has not been released, his mother Jenay Roberts is responsible for bringing the news to the media.

Even though the student denied being the one to clog the urinal with paper towels, Forshey forced him to clean out the paper towels. According to police reports, she did not offer him any safety equipment, gloves, or cleaning supplies. When the student was finished, there was no soap available for him to wash his hands. The teacher’s solution? Run them under warm water.

At that point the student went to the dean’s office in search of soap. According to reports, the boy’s hands reeked of urine. Broward Community Charter School administrators took action against the teacher, saying they were aware of the incident and that she had been reprimanded.

The South Florida teacher was arrested based on charges of battery of a child by exposure to urine. The boy’s mother, Ms. Roberts, is the one formally pressing charges. Her attorney, Joshua Hertz, released an official statement.

“The only reason we are bringing this story to the public is to find out if any other child has been treated in this way before. We want to protect this child and possibly any other children that may have been subjected to this form or corporal and unmoral punishment. My client wants to find out why a teacher would allow this to happen.”

Forshey is considered by many to be a good teacher and well thought of in the school. She was characterized by being a supporter of “positive reinforcement”. Unfortunately, the boy told local FOX affiliate WSVN, “It is very embarrassing to have that going around the school, and people just bothering me about the simple thing that shouldn’t have been done.”

Do you think this Florida teacher deserved to be arrested for forcing a student to unclog a dirty urinal?