A New Jersey principal has resigned in wake of his arrest in connection to allegations that he choked and hit a toddler with a belt in his dwelling earlier this month.
Dr. Dion Patterson, 44 — who served because the principal of Madison Elementary Faculty in Rahway — is dealing with counts together with baby abuse/endangering the welfare of a kid and neglect by a caregiver. The fees stem from an alleged incident that occurred at his dwelling in Fanwood on Jan. 4.
In keeping with court docket paperwork obtained by NJ Advance Media, Patterson started yelling on the baby for speaking on the cellphone whereas they had been folding garments in a bed room. Patterson briefly exited the room earlier than returning with a belt, which he allegedly used to strike the kid. He then dragged the kid up and about, inflicting their head to hit the ground, and started choking the kid with each of his fingers round their neck, the paperwork mentioned.
The kid, who was not recognized, reported the incident to a college nurse two days later, sparking an investigation.
Rahway faculty officers confirmed the alleged sufferer just isn’t a pupil within the district, in keeping with NJ Advance Media.
“We’re conscious that there are felony fees pending towards Dr. Patterson,” the district mentioned in an announcement. “We want to guarantee the group that the fees don’t contain any college students of the Rahway Public Faculty District and are unrelated to any incidents or occasions involving the district.”
Officers, in a letter to oldsters, additionally confirmed Patterson tendered his resignation this week, which might be submitted to the Board of Training for approval on Jan. 27. The letter made no point out of the felony fees or Patterson’s arrest.
In keeping with Patterson’s LinkedIn profile, he grew to become the principal of Madison Elementary in June 2024 and beforehand labored within the Orange and South Orange Maplewood faculty districts. He’s additionally listed as an adjunct instruction at Montclair State College‘s Faculty of Communication and Media.
