MILWAUKEE — 52-year-old Toilisa Lockett, who is the Assistant Principal of 10th-grade classes at Washington High School of Information Technology, is facing two charges related to child abuse for allegedly publically beating a young relative at another school’s front office over disciplinary issues.
620 WTMJ has recovered a criminal complaint from Milwaukee County Circuit Court records detailing the incident. According to the report, a Milwaukee police officer was summoned to Golda Meir School Upper Campus on Tuesday, April 23 for reports that a student was assaulted by an adult caretaker.
Warning: The following report includes graphic details that are not suitable for all audiences.
The report suggests that the officer was shown a video of the young victim being grabbed by the hair, dragged on the ground, slapped and punched with a closed fist repeatedly in the school’s office over 10-to-15 minutes with intermittent screaming close in the victim’s face.
Lockett is accused of placing her hands on the victim’s neck. The victim later told medical examiners that for a time, she couldn’t breathe and felt dizzy, proving the potentially life-threatening nature of the alleged crime.
This incident stemmed from what a criminal complaint described as the young relative “being disrespectful to school staff,” which caused school officials to contact Lockett.
During the alleged assault, multiple members of the school’s faculty stood by and did not intervene as other students watched, with some even repositioning themselves to get a clearer view of the incident.
This took place on a Friday, and the victim reportedly did not return to school until Monday. The victim said she had a black eye on Monday. The report states the victim believed her black eye “may have come from basketball, but Lockett wouldn’t let her go to school because she didn’t want anyone reporting what happened the Friday prior due to her black eye.”
Physical Abuse of a Child (Intentional Cauation of Bodily Harm) is a Class H Felony with a maximum fine of $10,000 and a maximum sentence of six years of imprisonment. Cause of Mental Harm to a Child is a Class F Felony in which Lockett faces up to $25,000 in fines and up to 12 years and six months, or 150 months in prison. Ultimately, the maximum length of potential imprisonment for Lockett could be 18 and a half years in prison.
This is a breaking news story. An update and/or follow-up may be issued if/when further details are revealed.
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