Arcadia teacher arrested for stuffing napkins in student’s mouth

ARCADIA, Fla. – A teacher was arrested Thursday following an investigation into child abuse involving napkins at an Arcadia school.

Carol Ann Pauls, 33, of 3267 Pinetree St. in Port Charlotte, was suspended from Nocatee Elementary School in November after a third-grade student claimed she threatened to shove napkins down his throat.

Sandra Muryzn said several teachers were trying to calm down her son, Taylor, when Pauls said she’d “shove [a] napkin down his throat.”

Pauls told DeSoto County deputies she intended to use napkins to wipe Taylor’s snotty face when the child bit her. He then began to eat the napkins, Pauls said. She became “frustrated” when Taylor would not let her remove the napkins from his mouth, at which point she said “Fine, then just choke on it,” according to deputy reports.

Pauls is facing an aggravated child abuse charge.