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Third pre-school teacher accused of abusing children arrested after hearing

FULTON COUNTY, Ga. — A third pre-school teacher has been arrested and two others face charges after alleged abuse was caught on camera inside their classroom at a Roswell daycare center.

Lulwa Almouslli had yet to be arrested at the time she appeared in Fulton County court Wednesday, but was taken into custody in the courtroom right after the hearing.

The two other teachers, Zeina Alostwani and Soriana Briceno, are both facing felony cruelty to children charges.

They were both arrested last year and waived Wednesday’s arraignment.

Almouslli is now charged with two counts of simple battery, one count of simple assault, and cruelty to children.

Alostwani and Briceno now face even more charges after investigators reviewed days of video from inside their three-year-old daycare classroom at Parker-Chase of East Roswell.

Surveillance video evidence seems to show Alostwani stepping on a child’s fingers as the children sat in a circle last June. Then a girl is kneed in the back.

Video surveillance appears to show Briceno in a girl’s face, then pushing an index finger into the child’s forehead.

Both were arrested as Roswell Police and the Georgia Department of Early Care and Learning (DECAL) launched larger investigations.

According to records, state investigators reviewed video from previous days and found two dozen more incidents involving the same teachers in that class, stating “During review of video footage, there were multiple occurrences when staff members were observed pulling, pushing, shoving, and hitting children in care.”

Almouslli entered a plea of not guilty Wednesday and will be tried with the two other suspects.

Parents of some of the victims were in the courtroom and said they are pleased to see the criminal process move forward and want justice to be served.

DECAL’s state investigation, independent of the criminal one, found what they called “grossly negligent” operations, and moved to revoke their license and close the facility.

In January, the state issued a settlement agreement, saying the preschool can stay open if they pay a $10,000 fine, agree to more staff training, and site visits from DECAL over the next year.

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