A substitute teacher faced a judge on Thursday after being accused of ripping a hijab off an 8-year-old girl's head while she was studying in class.
Police say 31-year-old Oghenetega Edah has been charged with endangering the welfare of a child and aggravated harassment as a hate crime.
The P.S. 76 elementary student says Edah ordered her to take off her hijab after she was misbehaving in class on May 2. When she refused, she claims Edah ripped off the religious covering from her head and injured her eye while doing so.
Department of Education officials say Edah was fired right after the alleged incident.
Earlier this month, another 7-year-old student claims that just moments after the incident, Edah came after him and beat him several times. However, the suspect is not facing any charges in connection to the second claim.
News 12 was told the former substitute teacher had a clean record before his arrest.
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