OKCPS Substitute Teacher Under Investigation For Child Abuse

A substitute teacher with Oklahoma City Public Schools is under investigation after accusations of abuse surface against one of his young students.

Police have not yet made an arrest in the case, and officers are not saying much until the investigation progresses. However, family members of the boy have plenty to say. Maria Gray wants everyone to know what happened to her 4-year-old son.

"I told my momma, ‘it hurts,'" 4-year-old Joshaun Gray said.

The family points to a torn t-shirt as evidence of the abuse, as well as marks on the child's arm, which were still visible three days after the alleged abuse.

"It's more than just a scratch," Maria Gray said.

Joshaun says he was jumping up and down in class when his substitute teacher told him to stop.

"I did it two more times," Joshaun said.

That's when Joshaun says the teacher grabbed him by his arm and forced him to sit down, causing bruising to boy's body.

School officials at Green Pastures Elementary near Spencer would not go on camera but say the substitute teacher is off the job pending a police investigation. Joshaun's family says the teacher is also the pastor of the True Love Baptist Church in Spencer.

"He shouldn't be around no kids … any, at all," Maria said.

Maria says after police were called, a school official asked her to keep things quiet, but that did not stop her from calling News 9.

Police advised family members to take Joshaun to the hospital after seeing the marks. That is when the family says a DHS caseworker determined Joshaun had been abused.