PINEVILLE, N.C. — NBC Charlotte has learned the principal and assistant principal at Pineville Elementary School have been suspended following a report of sexual assault on the playground.
Officials with Charlotte-Mecklenberg Schools said principal Brian Doerer and assistant principal Kathryn Trotter are both on suspension with pay.
The district said Dr. Steve Esposito, CMS Southwest Learning Community Superintendent, is now leading Pineville Elementary, and an interim principal will be appointed as soon as possible. Families were notified over the phone.
Earlier this week, a mother told NBC Charlotte her eight-year-old daughter was sexually assaulted at the school while on the playground. The suspect was another eight-year-old in her daughter's class.
According to the mother, who wished to remain anonymous, the girl said she was playing when a boy came and tackled her, trying to get her down. The girl told her mother that she kept trying to get up but he pulled her friend's hand to grab her private parts.
The mother said that her daughter told her teacher, who then told the principal, but the mother wasn't called until hours later. The principal reportedly called the mother and told her there was an incident.
"My exact words were, 'Are you f---ing kidding me? I'm on the way,'" she said.
When she got to the school, she said the child had been sent back to class and his parents were followed up with on the phone.
The principal sent a message to the parents later that night, warning about a student behavior incident on the playground. The message reportedly didn't mention anything specific.
The girl's mother believed the school was trying to cover the incident up.
"Y'all are telling this kid that stuff like that is okay," she said to NBC Charlotte.
According to the mother, she did not send her daughter to school on Thursday. After what happened, she said she's not sure her daughter will go back to that school.