A first-grade teacher from Lookout Mountain Elementary School in Tennessee has been arrested and charged with abusing her own children in the parking lot of Ruby Falls.

On the evening of December 12, police responded to a report of child abuse. The father of the children had just picked up his two younger kids after they spent time with their mother, Heather Pecht, and immediately noticed numerous scratches and scabs on their hands. The children explained that their mother had caused the injuries.

The father informed officers that he believed Pecht had been abusing the children for years, affecting even his oldest child, who now lives with him to avoid contact with her. He mentioned previous attempts to report the abuse to authorities in Marion County and the Dunlap Police Department, but no actions were taken at the time.

According to the children, the incident occurred while they were in the car with Pecht at the Ruby Falls parking lot. Her phone fell into the back seat, prompting her to yell at them to retrieve it. As they tried to hand it back, she reportedly began pinching and scratching them. One child said they got out of the vehicle to escape, while the other described being bitten on the hand when trying to push her away.

All three children, including the older one, told police that similar abusive episodes had occurred for years, roughly once a week.

Forensic interviews were arranged for the children at a child advocacy center. The father successfully obtained emergency custody of the two younger children. Visible injuries on the kids’ hands, including red marks, scratches, scabs, and what appeared to be fingernail impressions, supported their accounts.

Pecht, aged 47, was arrested on December 26 and faces two counts of child abuse