Woman Gets 6 Months for Attack on Teacher

A North Hollywood woman who assaulted her daughter’s 64-year-old kindergarten teacher in front of a classroom full of children was sentenced Tuesday to six months in jail.

Benita McCrae, 30, told San Fernando Superior Court Judge John H. Major that although she was sorry for the Oct. 3 attack on teacher Marjan Swantek, she was frustrated with school administrators who ignored her complaints about the instructor. McCrae said Swantek was too harsh in scolding her 5-year-old daughter. “I am not a violent person,” she said softly.

McCrae, who is 6 feet tall and weighs 240 pounds, admitted that she grabbed Swantek around the neck, but she denied lifting the instructor off the ground and throwing her to the floor, as was alleged in police reports. She pleaded no contest on Oct. 23 to a single count of battery against a school employee.