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Instructional assistant in New Port Richey arrested on child abuse charge

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NEW PORT RICHEY, Fla. — An instructional assistant at the Achieve Center in New Port Richey has been arrested for allegedly assaulting an eight-year-old student.

According to New Port Richey Police, witnesses said they saw Allan Craig pull the child out from underneath a table, throw him to the ground, and push him up against a wooden cabinet before taking him to another room.

In the other room, the child allegedly was seen with a bloody nose. The child told investigators that Craig had choked him earlier that morning on the bus.

New Port Richey Police said Craig sent a text message to a teacher asking them to falsely claim the victim had been in a fight with another child at the school.

Craig faces charges of felony child abuse and tampering with a witness.

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