Middle school counselor accused of headbutting student in Fairfax County

FAIRFAX COUNTY, Va. ( DC News Now ) — Police said a school counselor if facing an assault and battery charge after he headbutted an 11-year-old boy.

The Fairfax County Police Department (FCPD) said the student called Craig Small, 44, of Lorton a derogatory name in the Glasgow Middle School cafeteria in Lincolnia. That’s when Small is to have headbutted the 11-year-old boy and carried him out of the cafeteria. Police began their investigation into the situation on April 16.

Police said Small started working as a counselor at Glasgow Middle School in August 2021.

The assault and battery charge against Small is a misdemeanor.

In August 2022, Fairfax County Public Schools launched an investigation into how another counselor at the middle school was able to keep his job for months after his conviction for a sex crime in Chesterfield County.

A jury found Darren Thornton, then 50, guilty of the crime in March 2022. Police said they properly notified the school division in 2020 when officers arrested Thornton for the incident, which involved solicitation of a prostitute who was underage.

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