Overview
- Randi Nicole Staples, 44, was arrested in Mobile County on a felony willful-abuse charge, booked into Mobile Metro Jail, and released after posting a $7,500 bond.
- Cottage Hill Christian Academy fired the second-grade teacher after law enforcement reviewed the off-campus video and identified her.
- A sibling secretly recorded the incident at home and shared it with an older sibling, who briefly posted it online; investigators say the clip shows roughly 20–22 strikes in about 14 seconds with a belt and the child being grabbed by the hair.
- Sheriff Paul Burch called the conduct repulsive and beyond discipline, said interviews are ongoing, and indicated additional evidence or charges could follow.
- Child welfare officials placed the children with a family member as the case proceeds, and an adult no longer living in the home has provided significant information to investigators.