Greeley teacher arrested, accused of assaulting elementary student

DENVER ( KDVR ) — A Greeley teacher was arrested for allegedly assaulting an elementary-aged student.

On Aug. 30, Greeley School Resource Officers were made aware of an alleged assault between an adult teacher and a 6-year-old student at Maplewood Elementary, located at 1201 21st Ave. According to Greeley police, they were notified of the alleged assault by Greeley-Evans School District 6 administrators and security.

The teacher, 40-year-old Joshua David Wainscott, was placed on administrative leave by the district after the allegations were made. Officers said they had spoken to the victim and their guardian, and Wainscott was ultimately arrested in September.

According to an arrest affidavit obtained by FOX31, officers were shown a video of students lining up outside the school. Officers said Wainscott was seen grabbing a student and picking him up with his arm around his neck and taking the student from outside to inside the school.

The student told officers that Wainscott placed him in a headlock. The student said he tried to kick Wainscott in order to let him go, but the teacher did not, and his grip reportedly became tighter, making it harder for the student to breathe.

Officers spoke to Wainscott before his arrest, and they said Wainscott did not want to make a statement. Wainscott was booked into the Weld County Jail on charges of second-degree assault – strangulation and child abuse.

FOX31 obtained the letter that was sent to the families of the school.

Dear Maplewood Families:

This message is to notify you that an employee of our school has been arrested by Greeley Police. Josh Wainscott, Library Media Teacher, was arrested Sept. 11 at his home. He faces charges of Second Degree Assault on a child victim, a Class 4 Felony, and Child Abuse, a misdemeanor charge. Mr. Wainscott was put on administrative leave on Sept. 3 after an incident was reported to the Maplewood administration. District 6 immediately contacted police, who conducted the investigation. Under state and federal law, a person charged with a crime is presumed innocent until proven guilty.

Mr. Wainscott has been employed in District 6 since Aug. 4, 2008. The safety and security of our students and staff is always our top priority. We take these allegations very seriously and deeply regret any emotional or physical harm to a child under our care. To protect the child in this case, we will not be providing any details of the incident, or any information that could interfere with the police investigation or prosecution.

If your child needs additional support, please don’t hesitate to reach out to the administration, counselor or social worker at Maplewood. Again, we are very sorry for this notification and will continue to cooperate with police on this investigation.”

Theresa Myers, chief of communications Greeley-Evans School District 6

Anyone with additional information on the case is asked to call School Resource Officer Diaz at 970-350-9605.

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