GLENNVILLE, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) - Two staff members from Claxton Elementary School were arrested, according to a press release from the Evans County School System.

The release also states the Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI) has an active investigation related to this matter.

The GBI, in a separate release, says it has arrested and charged Tanesha E. Herrington, age 47, of Claxton, Georgia, and Courtney Anne Dutton, age 37, of Glennville, Georgia, following a child abuse investigation at Claxton Elementary School.

Herrington has been charged with eight counts of Cruelty to Children in the First Degree, and Dutton has been charged with one count of Failure to Report Child Abuse.

Leona Berry says her two twins attend Claxton Elementary. She says she learned Friday that both of them have been seen on video being abused by Herrington.

“I just feel hurt because I’m sending my kids to school thinking that they are going to be protected, thinking that they’re getting loved and treated and cared for,” said Berry.

She says that the GBI told her that kids are not the only children who have been seen in the videos.

Berry says, knowing what she now knows it makes her look back on several interactions with Herrington differently.

“When they first went to school the first day with Miss Harrington, looking back, it makes sense now, she said that last year she had had a case where a student had gone home and reported something, and the mother tried to go to the school board and get her fired.”

According to the GBI, on Monday, October 13, 2025, the Claxton Police Department (CPD) requested the GBI to assist in a child abuse investigation.

The CPD had received an anonymous tip that a Pre-K teacher, Tanesha Herrington, had been abusing students in her classroom.

Agents then obtained video footage from a security camera located inside Herrington’s classroom.

The GBI says this footage depicts Herrington hitting two students repeatedly in the face, grabbing a student by the throat, forcefully lifting students by the arms while they were lying on the floor asleep, slapping a student on the arm, and then pushing the student, and throwing a bookbag at a student who was seated on the ground.

The videos include incidents from both the current and previous academic years.

Dutton, who served as Herrington’s paraprofessional, is observed on video inside the classroom during several of these incidents and failed to report the conduct as mandated.

Due to the substantial amount of video footage still under review, the GBI says additional victims may be identified, potentially resulting in further charges.

“Upon learning of an incident, the district immediately placed both employees on administrative leave pending the outcome of the investigation,” the Evans County School System writes.

“The Evans County School System is cooperating fully with the GBI and other law enforcement agencies to ensure a thorough review of the facts.”

Interim Superintendent Bradley Anderson stated, “The safety and well-being of our students are our highest priorities. We are taking this matter very seriously and will continue to follow all laws, policies, and procedures as the investigation proceeds.”

Because this is an active investigation and a personnel matter, the district cannot provide additional details at this time, it says.

“Updates will be shared as appropriate through official channels,” the statement reads.

The GBI asks for anyone with any information to please contact the Claxton Police Department at 912-739-2121 or the GBI’s Regional Investigative Office in Statesboro at 912-871-1121.

Anonymous tips can also be submitted by calling 1-800-597-TIPS(8477), online at https://gbi.georgia.gov/submit-tips-online, or by downloading the See Something, Send Something mobile app.

At the conclusion of the investigation, the GBI says the file will be given to the Atlantic Circuit District Attorney’s Office for prosecution.

Copyright 2025 WRDW/WAGT. All rights reserved.