Montgomery teacher accused of assaulting students indicted

Published May 24, 2011 4:00am ET



A Montgomery County teacher has been indicted on charges of abusing and choking students in her first-grade classroom.

A grand jury indicted Susan Burke this month on two counts of second-degree child abuse and 10 counts of second-degree assault, according to Montgomery County Circuit Court records. Burke, a teacher at Greencastle Elementary School in Silver Spring, was arrested in February. She is released on a $75,000 bond.

One student suffered unspecified abuses in October 2009; another in February and March 2010, the indictment says.

The indictment also alleges that Burke choked seven students. Two were assaulted in December 2010; the others were choked sometime between August 30, 2010, and Jan. 6, 2011, according to the indictment.

Police said all of the students were 6 or 7 years old at the time of the alleged assaults. Some students also reported that Burke kicked them, punched them or squeezed their arms, according to police.