PETERSBURG, Va. -- A Petersburg elementary school employee charged with assaulting a 4th-grade student pleaded no contest during a hearing this week.
The child's father, Dave Muller, spoke to CBS 6 about what happened in the classroom and the courtroom.
“Walnut Hill is not the same this year," Muller told CBS 6 senior reporter Wayne Covil. "We’ve had a great time at Walnut Hill Elementary and up till this year, we just loved the whole school system, everybody in it, it’s been a great experience."
But in January, Muller said he was called by the school's principal to come to the school.
He later learned there was a problem in the classroom between his 10-year-old son and a man who was serving as a substitute teacher for the day.
Muller said his son told him that the teacher yelled at the classroom and then specifically at one table.
“'Table 4, get the F up in front of my desk' and when I say “F”, he said the whole “F” word," Muller said.
Moments later, Muller said his son and others in the class confirmed that the man went after his son.
“He grabbed my son by the collar, out of a hoodie, and his other hand on his shirt and thumb on his neck and lifted him up eye to eye.”
Muller said his son was then threatened by the teacher.
“He told my son 'I will “F” you up if you want to “F” with me,'" Muller said.
When kids ran from the classroom crying, Muller said other teachers learned there was a problem.
"So the allegation is that the student was assaulted by the substitute teacher in a physical manner, an aggressive manner I would say," Petersburg Police Chief Travis Christian said.
Muller said the principal refused to call the police, so he did.
He then learned more about what happened in the classroom and about 24-year-old Ahmad Nathaniel Holloway, the man accused of assaulting Muller's son.
“I later found out that he’s not a teacher at all, substitute, he has no credentials," Muller said. "He’s not a teacher, substitute teacher. I was told by authorities that he was hired by the principal as school security and she was using him as a substitute teacher."
Muller said the school superintendent never made contact with him until a city council member reached out to the school board.
“I got a phone call a few days after it happened after she got Marlow Jones’ letter," Muller said.
On Thursday morning, I went to speak with School Superintendent Tamara Sterling but was told she was not in the building.
A staff member also told me there would be no comment about the incident or why Ahmad Nathaniel Holloway was in the classroom.
On Monday, Holloway pleaded no contest in Juvenile Domestic Relations Court to a misdemeanor assault and battery.
The judge gave Holloway 50 hours of community service and anger management, which if completed in six months, the charges would be dismissed.
Just weeks after the assault, parents received an email from the principal concerning a stranger who walked through the halls of the school before walking out.
“The real problem was the door was left open, anything could have happened," Muller said. "What’s going on in the country with schools is bad, it could have been bad.”
“Any type of breach of security in our school system is trained, so we’re looking into ways we can make sure that our schools are safe, doors are locked and our kids in a safe situation," Christian said.
Muller said after the assault, his 10-year-old son stayed home from school for about a week, afraid to return back to the classroom.
Weeks later, the 4th grader is back in school, doing well, and happy to be around his friends.
This is a developing story, so anyone with more information can email newstips@wtvr.com to send a tip.
