A music teacher at H.M. Pearson Elementary School in Fauquier County has been criminally charged for tying a 7-year-old female student to their chair.

Fauquier County detectives charged Brendan Mitchell Henry, a 23-year-old from Herndon, with assault, battery, and contributing to delinquency of a minor. Following a joint investigation by the county sheriff’s office, child protective services, and the public school system, detectives learned that Henry allegedly assaulted the child last week, Sept. 15, by using his belt to restrain them from being disruptive in class.

Tara Helkowski, a spokesperson for the county’s public schools, said in a statement that Henry was placed on administrative leave pending the outcome of the investigation.

A letter was sent home to Pearson school parents about the incident.

“Our top priority is to make sure all of our students and staff feel safe,” the letter, obtained by the Fauquier Times, read. “The school counselor, school social worker and school psychologist will be available for any students who may need support at this time.”

Fairfax County Police arrested Henry at his home in Herndon on Monday and a Fairfax County judge released him on a $2,000 bond. Henry’s court case will be heard in Fauquier County.

This isn’t the first instance of restraint used on school students in Northern Virginia. In 2019, a WAMU investigation revealed hundreds of cases of Fairfax County students that were physically restrained or secluded during school hours, even after the county schools reported to the federal government that not a single student was physically restrained or trapped in an isolating space.

And issues of restraint and seclusion of students don’t stop there. Further investigation revealed in 2019 that school districts around the country were not reporting cases, leading officials at the U.S. Government Accountability Office, a federal watchdog, to question the extent to which these tactics were used.