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09th Mar 2022

Teacher accused of biting two students over jar of pickles

Charlie Herbert

Teacher bites pupils over pickles

She faces charges over the incident

A Florida teacher was suspended and moved to a different school after she bit two students in a dispute over a jar of pickles.

The incident took place at Bartow Middle School last October and the teacher, Rhonda Rice, now faces two counts of battery.

According to an affidavit, Rice was in her classroom when she saw two students take items from the kitchen area. Rice then grabbed a jar of pickles off the shelf, with the students thinking she was taking them for herself.

One of the students grabbed the jar and tried to put it back on the shelf, prompting Rice to bite him so that he let go of the jar. When the second student also tried to grab the jar, Rice bit him as well.

This took place in October last year and in November the two students reported their teacher over the incident, Fox13 reports.

By December, the school district sent Rice a letter saying that she had been suspended without pay for three days. She was then transferred to another school, Sleepy Hill Middle School.

Rice told the school district she was “playing with both students over the jar of pickles” and when they grabbed it, she “licked their arms to get them off.”

The aunt of one of the students said her 15-year-old nephew was “shocked, to say the least” by the incident.

Kathy Toro told FOX: “My thoughts on the situation was, ‘What was she thinking!’

“When the school notified us of the incident, we immediately took action and I wanted charges brought up against her.

“She needs to be put in jail and learn from her mistake,” Toro continued. “She can’t put any part of herself on any child.”

Rice is expected to appear in court on March 31.

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