Irmo High School teacher indicted, accused of hitting students in separate incidents

LEXINGTON COUNTY, SC (WIS) – An Irmo Middle School teacher was charged Wednesday after being accused of hitting two students, one in March and the other in October.

According to arrest warrants from the Lexington County Sheriff’s Department (LCSD), Jermaine Cornelius Singletary, 51, struck the first student after he thought they touched his head in March.

Singletary allegedly struck the student in the chest, causing injury.

“Of course you’re going to get kicked if you try that again,” Singletary reportedly told a classroom about a week or two after the incident. “Anyone risks getting hit if they do something like that.”

Another arrest warrant states that Singletary punched another student in October after the student picked up part of an assignment that the teacher had thrown in the trash. Singletary allegedly approached the victim, punched him twice in the shoulder with an open hand and took the object from the victim to throw it back in the trash.

According to the warrant, the victim said they were told, “If you have anything to say; just say it to my face,” during an argument with Singletary after the incident.

Sheriff Koon said Singletary did not report either incident to school administrators.

Singletary turned himself in Wednesday morning and was charged with two counts of third-degree assault. He was taken to the Lexington County Detention Center.

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