Woman jailed for beating daughter’s teacher

updated 2:00 a.m. ET May 12, 2006

DALLAS - A woman convicted of beating and kicking her daughter’s teacher in front of the girl’s seventh-grade class was sentenced to six months in jail Thursday.

Paulette Baines, 45, was convicted Wednesday of felony assault on a public servant. She also was fined $800 and ordered to pay $14,000 restitution to Mary Oliver.

Baines, a high school teacher, walked into Oliver’s science classroom, grabbed Oliver’s hair and dragged her across the room while punching her in the face and kicking her, Oliver testified.

The April 2005 attack occurred because Baines was angry about Oliver confronting her daughter for being in the hallway without permission, Oliver testified. Baines was fired after the incident.

She apologized Thursday.

Prosecutors pressed for a more serious conviction of aggravated assault on a public servant, citing Oliver’s two broken ribs, concussion, bruises and damaged disks in her neck. The defense argued that Oliver’s injuries were not that serious and that she did not qualify as a public servant.

Oliver said she was happy with the verdict. “My goal was for her to never be in the classroom again, and a felony conviction assures that,” she said.

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