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Florida pastor will not face child abuse charges
An Orlando woman claims a pastor at Saint Mark’s AME Church used corporal punishment against her child. The reported punishment involved this pastor using his belt to hit students.
ORLANDO, Fla. - "You will not get away with this," said Deandre Boykin.
She claims a pastor at Saint Mark’s AME Church used corporal punishment against her child. She said, "Instead of loving my son, he whoops him with a belt."
The reported punishment involved this pastor using his belt to hit students. According to a police affidavit, the punishment occurred on Nov. 2, 2023, when 16 students were allegedly hit by this pastor. It all happened during class at the Alpha Learning Academy, which is a private school within the church.
"My kids have no rights," she said. She goes on to say, "We as parents have no rights."
Boykin’s son is ten years old and has special needs. She said she pulled her children out of school immediately following the incident last year. On Wednesday, State Attorney Andrew Bain announced an investigation showed no wrong-doing, and his team would not be pressing charges against the pastor.
"There was an older school handbook that allowed for corporal punishment and a newer handbook where the language had been deleted," said Bain.
He and his team reviewed reports from Orlando police that 16 students underwent this corporal punishment.
"We went through and looked at the statutes and case law, and it was determined later that we could not file criminal charges," he said.
The old-handbook, new-handbook "gray area" essentially means the state can not prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the pastor hit the students with the intention of inflicting physical or mental injury, which is against the law in Florida.
Boykin said, "When they said corporal punishment, they took an old handbook from somewhere." She goes on to say, "I've never seen it."
Alpha Learning Academy said in a statement:
"After working closely with the law enforcement investigation following the incident at The Alpha Learning Academy, we have now learned that no criminal charges are being filed. We are currently working with our district leadership to determine next steps regarding the pastor’s tenure, as well as how the school will operate moving forward. The pastor’s voluntary sabbatical will continue while we work through this internal process.
"Our commitment is to ensure the school continues to be a place where every scholar is "cared for, loved and supported in their desire to be the best they can be" and that the church remains a place of compassion, hope, and reconciliation.
"As our internal investigation is now underway, we will refrain from any further comment."
As for Boykin, she spoke with FOX 35’s Kelsie Cairns and said that she would be attending service at Saint Mark’s AME on Sunday, even though she is not a member, to air her grievances in front of the congregation.