Two Selmer-area school employees are facing assault charges after separate incidents days apart that left two students shaken and triggered child-welfare referrals. One case centers on a Selmer Elementary staff member accused of dragging a nonverbal 9-year-old across a classroom rug, while the other involves a Selmer Middle School lunch worker accused of striking a 15-year-old in the back of the head. McNairy County deputies opened criminal investigations after school staff and parents brought the allegations to authorities.
On March 19, deputies responded to Tennessee Department of Children’s Services referrals at Selmer Elementary, where staff member Meg Day, 49, was accused of grabbing a nonverbal 9-year-old by the lower body and dragging him across a rug, leaving what investigators described as a “carpet burn” and a “blood red mark” on the child’s lower back, according to reporting by Action News 5. The student was taken to the school nurse, and Day was later arrested on a charge of simple assault, the outlet reported.
Middle School Camera Footage Sparks Separate Case
The day before, March 18, a different complaint surfaced at Selmer Middle School. Parents of a 15-year-old student told deputies their child had been struck on the back of the head by lunchroom worker Sequoia Ann Hively, 65. Deputies reviewed school surveillance video that they say backs up the allegation, according to WBBJ. Hively was charged with one count of assault; the station reported the teen did not have visible injuries at the time, though family members later provided a video the father says shows the moment of contact.
Parents Pressed Officials as District Sent Employee Home
The 15-year-old’s father told the superintendent he had a video of his son dancing that appears to show Hively striking the back of the teen’s head, and the superintendent told him Hively had been sent home and would not return to work until the situation was resolved, according to reporting by WREG. The father says he first learned on March 17 that Hively would be coming back to work before he showed the video, and the McNairy County Sheriff’s Office says both Hively and Meg Day have since been released from custody.
Criminal Probes Continue as Prosecutors Weigh Charges
Both incidents prompted criminal investigations and DCS referrals, and prosecutors will now decide whether to file formal charges, according to reporting by Action News 5. The district has told reporters it is cooperating with investigators while the cases move through the legal system.
