TEACHER ARRESTED IN GRIFFIN

On April 13, 2023, the SRO at Kennedy Road Middle School was notified by the school nurse, who is a mandatory reporter, that a 6th grade student had been brought to her alleging that she had been struck in the face by a teacher. When the SRO saw the child, he noted redness on the child’s face as though she had been struck.

According to Sheriff Darrell Dix, “School Administrators, who are also mandatory reporters, did not notify the SRO of the allegation that had been made, or that the child appeared to have been struck. When the SRO located the Principal, he was told that the teacher had already been interviewed by school staff, admitted she struck the child, and sent home.

 

Sheriff Darrell Dix further states, “The SRO was not notified of the incident by the Principal or school staff, nor was he asked to be present during the interview before the teacher was sent home. Fortunately, one of my staff members knows the teacher and was able to arrange for her to be interviewed by the SRO and Investigators. Video of the incident has been reviewed, and she also has admitted to us that she struck the child. There was a delay in arresting the teacher because we, along with the District Attorney’s Office, had to gather information about the teacher’s diplomatic status. Once we were able to verify that information, she was notified of the warrant, and she turned herself in this morning.”

 

Arrested was Sowjayna Ballikurva I/F 44. She has been charged with 1 count of Simple Battery.

 

“We’re glad that the nurse did her duty, stepped forward, and spoke to the SRO or we may not have found out about it. This isn’t the first time this type of situation has happened, and we have brought this to the attention of school system administration on several previous occasions. Given the fact that we often have to play catch-up, it turned out as well as it could.”