Charges dropped against Calif. special ed teacher

REDWOOD CITY, Calif. (AP) — Prosecutors have dropped charges against a San Francisco Bay Area elementary school teacher accused of kicking, slapping and withholding food from some of her students.

San Mateo County District Attorney Steve Wagstaffe says classroom assistants significantly backpedaled from their allegations against Redwood City School District teacher Alexia Bogdis.

The 43-year-old had been charged with nine counts of misdemeanor abuse based on the assistants' allegations that she slapped and kicked the stomach of one 5-year-old student at Roosevelt Elementary School and withheld food and twisted the wrist of another during the 2011-12 school year. The charges were dropped last week.

Bogdis' attorneys, Christopher Schumb and Steve Clark, told the San Mateo County Times (http://bit.ly/ZmbUnG0 ) their client has always maintained her innocence.

Bogdis has been on administrative leave since the accusations surfaced.

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Information from: San Mateo County Times, http://www.sanmateotimes.com