Teacher accused of using extension cord to assault teens is charged in North Carolina

A teacher is accused of using an extension cord to assault two students in North Carolina.

Patricia Graham, a 71-year-old teacher at South Lenoir High School, reportedly was caught on camera using the cord to hit one of the teens in a classroom. The video appeared to show the student being hit on the hands, face and back, resulting in minor injuries, Lenoir County Sheriff Jackie Rogers told McClatchy News in a phone interview.

Now, Graham has been arrested and charged with simple assault. Deputies in a March 2 news release didn’t list attorney information for her.

In response to a request for comment, Lenoir County Public Schools told McClatchy News a teacher involved in an incident was no longer working for the district.

“District and school administrators have reviewed the circumstances of the incident in a South Lenoir High School classroom on Wednesday, March 1,” the district wrote in an emailed statement. “Law enforcement has been briefed and the school has communicated with the parents of the students involved. The teacher is no longer employed by Lenoir County Public Schools.”

Graham had worked for the district between 1976 and 2013. After she retired, she became a part-time teacher, school officials told WITN.

The sheriff’s office said a school resource officer launched an investigation after learning about the assault March 1. Deputies reported finding the video and determining that students ages 16 and 17 had been assaulted.

“We are not going to tolerate this type of behavior in our schools from people in positions of authority,” Rogers said in the news release. “This video deeply disturbed me.”

South Lenoir High School is in Deep Run, roughly 85 miles southeast of Raleigh.

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