10-Year-Old Could Be Charged Over Hug With School Counselor

Prosecutors in Florida are considering filing a misdemeanor battery charge against a 10-year-old boy after a school counselor said he groped her during a hug. The student was given a 10-day suspension from Holly Hill School in Volusia County, NBC News reports, but returned to his fourth-grade class on Tuesday. The boy's family said he denies the counselor's account. "My grandson has been accused of something and then punished before the facts," his grandfather said. "We will not stand for it."

The counselor told police the boy approached her for a hug when she was visiting a classroom last month. The suspension letter says she "turned sideways to give a side hug" before the boy put one arm around her shoulder and with his other hand "reached and grabbed her left breast." The counselor, who chose not to be publicly identified under a Florida crime victims law, said she removed his hand, and he walked away. The student's family argues the accusation hasn't been properly investigated. (More inappropriate touching stories.)