HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY, Fla. – The Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office has arrested a vice principal and a teacher from Progress Village Middle School as part of an ongoing child abuse investigation.
On January 18, 2024, Bennie Leverett, 39, a teacher at the school, allegedly placed a student in a chokehold, restricting the student’s ability to breathe before eventually releasing the hold. The incident was not immediately reported to authorities.
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Tashiska Fabian, 41, the vice principal, became aware of the incident but failed to report it to the child abuse hotline or law enforcement, as required by law. Fabian also learned that another student had recorded the incident on video and instructed the student to delete the footage. Although the video was deleted, detectives were able to recover it during the investigation.
On February 16, 2024, the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office, in collaboration with the Department of Children and Families, responded to the school to investigate. Bennie Leverett was arrested on March 14, 2024, following the investigation.
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After further inquiries, detectives determined that Fabian had failed to report the incident. A warrant was issued for her arrest, and she was taken into custody by the HCSO Warrant Section on September 4, 2024.
“It is deeply troubling that a teacher would harm a student, but even more so when a person in a position of authority fails to do the right thing and report the crime. This is a complete betrayal of trust within our community,” said Sheriff Chad Chronister. “I’m proud of the witness who stepped up and did the right thing by reporting the incident, ensuring law enforcement could step in and bring justice for the victim.”
The investigation remains ongoing.
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