A teacher at Coffee County Head Start has been arrested and charged with cruelty to children in the first degree after she allegedly hit a child in the face and on the shoulder, according to an incident report from the Douglas Police Department.
The report states that on September 9, 2024, a Head Start administrator reported that Tanisha Riles, 44, of Nicholls, who was a Head Start teacher, had been caught on camera striking a child in the face and on the shoulder. In addition to the video evidence, multiple witnesses had seen the incident and provided testimony regarding what allegedly happened.
As a result, Riles was arrested in Nicholls by officers from the Nicholls Police Department and transported to the Coffee County Jail. She was booked into the jail and released.
First degree cruelty to children is a felony.