Background: St. Ambrose Catholic School in Godfrey, Ill. (KSDK). Inset: Lisa Jacobs (Madison County Sheriff’s Office).
An Illinois teacher was arrested and charged with aggravated battery against a child after she allegedly dropped one of her toddler students.
Lisa Jacobs, aged 44, worked as a pre-kindergarten teacher at St. Ambrose Catholic School in Godfrey, which is situated around 30 miles north of St. Louis, Missouri, close to the southwest border of Illinois. However, she unexpectedly resigned following investigations by the police and the Department of Child Protective Services. The allegations against her involved reportedly lifting a 3-year-old student and then letting the child fall from a height of five feet, leading to the child sustaining injuries. This incident was said to have occurred on December 3, after which Jacobs was promptly placed on administrative leave and subsequently decided to resign from her position on December 4.
According to documents obtained by local news outlet RiverBender.com, Jacobs was charged with felony battery and “knowingly caused bodily harm” to the child, “in that the defendant picked up and dropped her to the ground from approximately five feet in the air.” The Madison County Sheriff’s Office confirmed to KSDK, a local NBC affiliate, that Jacobs was taken into custody, booked, and released. No details were provided about bail.
In response to the alleged incident, Fr. Steven Janoski, the pastor for the church that runs St. Ambrose Catholic School, sent a letter to parishioners and families of the school’s students saying, “This past Tuesday afternoon (December 3, 2024), Mr. Robert Baird, our school principal, was notified about an interaction between our pre-kindergarten teacher, Mrs. Lisa Jacobs and one of her students that caused concern. Mr. Baird immediately notified me and together we made the decision to place Mrs. Jacobs on administrative leave while the situation was investigated.”
Janoski mentioned the fact that Baird had met with one of the parents of the child involved in the incident and informed them that Jacobs had been placed on leave. Also mentioned was the involvement of the Madison County Sheriff’s Office and the Department of Child Protective Services.
Jacobs is expected to appear in court for a preliminary hearing on Dec. 13.
