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A Georgia daycare worker has been arrested after police say she forced two children to fight.
Discovery Zone Kids employee Riffat Tahmin Khalil, 37, was arrested last month by the Columbia County Sheriff’s Office, local outlet WRDW reports. The daycare is in Evans, just minutes from the South Carolina border.
Khalil is accused of making two siblings, ages 9 and 6, fight each other at the daycare on July 28, local outlet WJBF reports.
Footage of the incident reviewed by police reportedly shows one child kicking another to the ground. Khalil then grabbed one of the children, swung her onto a chair and shook her multiple times, according to the incident report reviewed by WRDW.
Khalil then prompted one of the siblings to hit the other with a chair, the report says. The incident ended after another teacher walked into the room and removed one of the siblings.
The siblings’ parent contacted the police after her children told her that “the teacher, Ms. Khalil, made them fight,” WRDW reports.
Khalil is now in the Columbia County jail, facing three counts of cruelty to children, WRDW reports. Her bond has been set at $75,300.
The daycare’s owner immediately fired Khalil after reviewing the footage, WJBF reports.
The Independent has contacted the Columbia County Sheriff’s Office and Discovery Zone Kids for more information. The Independent was unable to identify Khalil’s attorney for comment.
