Special-needs teacher at a Hialeah Christian school abused student: police

In early March, a woman found bruises, scratches and a puncture wound on her 8-year-old autistic son after a day at his Christian school in Hialeah. An investigation was launched, and his teacher was jailed on Thursday on a charge of child abuse, according to police.

Nikol Marie Rodriguez, 29, of Miramar, is a teacher at Primera Iglesia Hispana de la Biblia Abierta, which operates Peace Christian Academy at 490 East 50th Street. Rodriguez works with special-needs children, according to her arrest affidavit.

She has been the 8-year-old’s “primary educator” since he started at the school in August 2024, police say. The boy has autism and ADHD and is described as “able to comprehend simple instructions but has difficulty articulating more than a simple request” and is not known to be violent, police wrote in Rodriguez’s arrest affidavit.

On March 4, police say classroom-security footage showed Rodriguez instructing the boy and two other students to sit and face her. The child faced away from her so she grabbed him and faced him in her desired direction in an “aggressive manner,” police say. Rodriguez checked her fingernails after this.

A report by the academy stated that “due to escalating behavior and increased physical dysregulation,” Rodriguez implemented deescalation procedures, which entailed her placing “her hands on his sides in order to provide physical support and prevent uncontrolled movements” that could harm him or others, police say.

However, the security footage showed the child was “simply sitting in place” and did not show any physically threatening behaviors or emotions, police say.

Rodriguez was seen on camera sitting behind the boy and pulling his arms behind his back causing his shoulders to flare out, police say. The boy continued to struggle as Rodriguez placed her leg over his thigh and he “rocked his torso back, forth, and side to side, while moving his legs back and forth appearing to be in agony,” police wrote in the arrest affidavit.

Another student covered his eyes and ears during the alleged abuse, police say.

After two minutes, Rodriguez pulled the boy onto his back and put her hand on his chest as she used her leg to keep his lower body down. Police say she forcefully slammed the boy’s body and head on the floor.

She continued to restrain him, grabbing at his torso, neck and head. The boy moved his arms and kicked his legs, but Rodriguez remained mounted on his stomach. He began to roll his body, but Rodriguez continued to force him on his back and pinned his head into the corner of the classroom, police say.

She used her knee to pin down his arm as he tried to push his leg off the wall to escape her grasp, but she pushed them away from the wall and held him down. The boy then raised his head and hit the floor, before briefly escaping, but Rodriguez then got on his back and held his arms behind him.

She finally let go of him but not before pushing him down, causing him to fall against a table.

Rodriguez then cleaned up the classroom and escorted the other distressed boy who was covering his ears and head out of the classroom. Police say she did not call for medical assistance or help the 8-year-old.

Later, the boy’s mom found “a small puncture wound in the area of the victim's right bicep, in addition to bruising and scratches on the victim's upper chest, and whole finger bruise marks below the victim's left arm, nearing the victim's armpit,” police wrote in the arrest affidavit.

Rodriguez was arrested on Thursday and charged with child abuse. Court records show she has been released from jail after posting bond. Her attorney information was not available on the Miami-Dade County Court of Clerk’s site. The school could not immediately be reached for comments.