Preschool Teacher Charged With Felony After Allegedly Dragging Child Down Hallway

A Connecticut pre-school teacher was arrested after allegedly dragging a student into a hallway from a classroom and leaving him unattended for several minutes.

She is facing one felony count of risk of injury to a child stemming from an incident that occurred on Dec. 1, 2025.

According to the Hartford Courant, authorities began investigating the incident the following day at the University of Hartford Magnet School.

The investigation began the next day when a woman who picked the boy up from school viewed footage of the incident after learning about it at dismissal.

Describing the footage, the woman told investigators it showed the boy being dragged by his feet across a classroom by Stacy Vaughn-Marcella, before he was left alone in a hallway for about 10 minutes.

The woman said the footage later showed another paraeducator approaching the boy.

According to CT Insider, citing the warrant, the incident unfolded between noon and 12:30 p.m. on Dec. 1, shortly before nap time, when the boy, who was present in a classroom with other 3- and 4-year-olds, began throwing stuff because he couldn't join a play station.

This prompted a staff member to take him on a walk to calm him. However, upon his return, the boy began climbing up on a bookshelf and tearing things off the wall because another child said something to him, a staff member told authorities.

Witnesses reported that Vaughn-Marcella then dragged the boy by the feet out the door to a common area and closed the door.

The boy allegedly "repeatedly threw a wooden object" at the door while he was outside and was later found by another teacher "crying in a corner," and was taken to a behavior specialist.

The police reviewed surveillance footage of the incident, but the view was partially blocked. An officer later noted that the boy was seemingly "distressed" after being dragged by Vaughn-Marcella.

A guardian cited in the report also said that he was not "acting himself" after the incident; however, the staff at Connecticut Children’s did not find any injuries.

Vaughn-Marcella was later questioned by a Hartford police officer and said the boy repeatedly kicked her, leaving her with injuries on her lower leg.

She also alleged that she went to the kid, who was climbing the cabinets, when he "willingly grabbed her hand and assisted himself down by jumping off," and landed on her foot. He then "rolled his back on the floor and began kicking her with 'all of his might,' in a fit of 'rage and anger.'"

According to the warrant, to avoid the kicks, she grabbed one of his legs, but "he flailed and kicked her with a different foot."

"As the boy continued to kick in her direction, his body was moving on the floor," the warrant stated, adding "she let him go out the door" and then closed it as the incident continued.

The preschool teacher said she could monitor the boy through the glass door while he was in the hallway, and stated that she didn't intentionally drag him.

Vaughn-Marcella is set to appear in court on April 29. She was arrested on January 22 and was later released after posting a $5,000 bond.