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

According to arrest warrants provided by the Lexington County Sheriff’s Department (LCSD), 51-year-old Jermaine Cornelius Singletary punched the first student after he thought they touched his head in March.

Singletary allegedly punched the student in the chest, causing an injury.

“Of course you’re going to get hit again trying that,” Singletary reportedly told a classroom about a week or two after the incident. “Anybody runs the risk of getting hit when they do something like that.”

Another arrest warrant states that Singletary hit another student in October after he took part of an assignment that the teacher threw away. Singletary allegedly walked up to the victim, hit him twice on the shoulder with his open hand, and took the item from the victim to throw back in the trash.

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

Sheriff Koon said Singletary did not report any of the incidents 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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