Teacher Accused of Assaulting Students Set for Trial

A jury was selected Monday for the trial of a Maryland teacher accused of punching and choking her students.

Susan Burke, 36, was arrested in February, after nine of her first grade students said they were abused. Burke is accused of choking, kicking, punching and scratching students in her Greencastle Elementary School class, according to a NBC Washington report.

School officials became aware of the allegations on Jan. 4th when one of her students complained of being physically assaulted on multiple occasions. She was removed from the school immediately and placed on administrative leave.

Three days later, a seven year-old boy arrived at the Briggs Chaney police substation with a parent, claiming Burke had assaulted him several times, according to the police.

Police interviewed all of the students in her class and nine said they were assaulted.

"All of the victims described being choked by the suspect," detectives wrote in the arrest records. "Some of the students, in addition to being choked, stated they were kicked, punched, scratched or had their arms squeezed tightly by Susan Burke."

Burke is also being charged in an alleged assault of a student in March of 2010 as part of the investigation. The assaults allegedly were committed on school property during school hours.

The Jury was selected on Monday morning. Opening statements are scheduled for the afternoon. Prosecutors are expected to start calling witnesses.

Burke has been in the Montgomery School System for 10 years. She taught at Meadow Hall Elementary School in Rockville for eight years prior to completing a volunteer transfer in 2009 to Greencastle, according to schools spokesman Dana Tofig.