A veteran Antioch Elementary School teacher has been placed on paid administrative leave while officials investigate an accusation she strong-armed her fifth-grade student.
"She treats all the kids like perfect angels except me," the 10-year-old girl, Zsanette, said Wednesday.
NBC Chicago is not using her last name to protect her identity.
Zsanette has a bruise on her arm a day after she said she was singled out by the teacher as students were heading inside from recess.
"I wanted to scream," she said, but opted to remain quiet until she got home and told her dad what happened.
The alleged abuse is especially troubling, her father said, because the girl was mentally and physically abused for the first nine years of her life by her biological mother.
"She has made great strides since she's been with me [and her stepmother]," Vince Bennett said.
The state Department of Children and Family Services is also investigating.
