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A church employee has sparked outrage after he allegedly took off his belt and whipped a group of children at the church's private school, WESH reports.
The alleged beating took place at St. Mark Preparatory School in Orlando, Florida. Parents of fourth graders at the school said their children told them the incident stemmed from a student getting caught writing on a desk.
Their teacher told an assistant to get the church staffer, who "slammed his things down on the desk, took off his belt, and (told them to) line up, and he beat them three times apiece," the mother of a nine-year-old student said.
More than a dozen fourth graders were reportedly whipped during the incident. According to reports, police were called, but none of the children were seriously injured so paramedics didn't get involved.
Some parents are demanding criminal charges against the employee and have removed their children from the school.
St. Mark Prep Principal Carol Messiah said no one from the school would be speaking on the incident before consulting legal counsel, per WESH. The Orlando Police Department also declined to release details on the case amid its ongoing investigation, according to reports.
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