Male Teacher Punishes Six-Year-Old Girl by Making Her Remove Her Shirt

It’s time for your daily “WTF????” A teacher in Mesa, Arizona is facing a pile of charges after he reportedly forced a six-year-old to remove her shirt as a means of punishment, then made her sit naked from the waist up in class.

WTF does not even begin to describe how terrifyingly wrong all of that last sentence I just wrote is. According to KCCI, Adams Elementary teacher Thomas Washburn, 54, was arrested on Jan. 15, on the day the incident happened.

Police were told the kindergarten teacher “lost his cool” and was shouting in the classroom. The girl was apparently scared and hid her face in the shirt. He told her to take her face out of her shirt, and police say when she refused, he took her shirt off.

The girl reportedly cried for more than 10 minutes, sitting shirtless in a packed classroom.

Washburn eventually returned her clothing. When
the victim’s mother arrived after school to pick up the child, Washburn
told the parent what he had done, police said. She was extremely upset
and immediately contacted the principal’s office, officers said.

That’s when police were called. Washburn was arrested, but declined to answer any questions from police. Authorities with the school released an official statement, addressing the incident:

“Thomas
Washburn has been placed on paid administrative leave and is assigned
to home. The district will use the police findings as the basis for any
future employment action against Washburn.

Our
first priority is the safety and security of our students. Mesa Police
Department is leading the investigation, and we are working
cooperatively with them.”

Washburn now faces 26 counts of indecent exposure (at least one for each child that was in the classroom) and one count of child abuse.