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Parent Says Teacher Assaulted Second-Grader In Harlem School

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- A New York City school teacher has been pulled from the classroom after allegations he assaulted a second-grade student -- and it turns out this is not the first time this same teacher has been disciplined.

As CBS2's Brian Conybeare reported Monday, a boy named Ka'veon Wilson tends to have a smile on his face, but his mother said the smile hides what her 7-year-old went through at the hands of a teacher at P.S. 194 Countee Cullen, at 244 W. 144th St. in Harlem.

"He assaulted my son," said Shantel Phinazee. "He picked him up and threw him across the hallway, and then closed the classroom door like it was nothing."

Phinazee said Ka'veon suffered bruises on his back and had to be taken to the hospital. The teacher has been identified as Osman Couey, who been with the Department of Education since 1992.

CBS2 News has confirmed Couey has at least four other disciplinary actions against him in the past for corporal punishment, verbal abuse, and exercising poor judgement at the same school.

"They still let him work, and nothing has been done, and he did this numerous times to other kids," Phinazee said.

Couey has now been pulled from the classroom – but Phinazee doesn't think that is enough. She was joined outside the school Monday by the Rev. Kevin McCall of the National Action Network.

"You should send your child to school to get an education, not get abused," McCall said.

They want the teacher to be fired and arrested. The NYPD confirmed they are investigating the alleged assault that happened back in December, but Phinazee -- who is active in the school PTA -- says she was not notified until late January.

"This is crazy," Phinazee said. "It makes no sense why they waited a month to tell me that my child was assaulted by a teacher, but they can call me every day for everything else."

The Department of Education released a statement saying, "This behavior is deeply troubling and we are seeking to terminate this teacher's employment."

CBS2 reached out to Couey to get his side of this story, but as of late Monday had not heard back from him.

Meanwhile, little Ka'veon's mother said she is considering a lawsuit against the Department of Education.

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