EAST ST. LOUIS (KMOX) - A former preschool teacher in East St. Louis who made children take off their clothes and stand naked in a closet as punishment has pleaded guilty.
Mary M. Agbehia, 28, a former teacher at the Southern Illinois University Edwardsville Head Start program, pleaded guilty to five felonies in the case, according to the Belleville News-Democrat. Another teacher, Shavonda L. Willis, is scheduled for a hearing in the case in which she is charged with multiple felonies on Tuesday.
In March of 2019, campus Police Chief Kevin Schmoll announced allegations against the teachers, saying they forced four of the 20 preschoolers in a class to take off all their clothes.
"Children would misbehave in class and this teacher would have them disrobe and stand them, make them stand inside a closet for five or 10 minutes as their discipline. Then they would redress and join the class," Schmoll said.
The form of punishment reportedly had been going on for about a month and a half.
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Agbehia was charged with two felony counts of aggravated battery, five felony counts of unlawful restraint and one county of violating reporting provisions, which is a misdemeanor. A partial plea deal would have two felony counts and the misdemeanor dismissed, the BND reports.
Willis is charged with four felony counts of aggravated battery, five felony counts of unlawful restraint and one misdemeanor count of violating reporting provisions.
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