A second contract employee at James Clemens High School has been arrested on a charge of willful torture-abuse of a child by caregiver or person in charge, an official said.

Capt. John Stringer with the Madison Police Department said 28-year-old Theron Benjamin Rice turned himself in Monday after detectives obtained a warrant for his arrest. The warrant is related to an incident in late October.

According to a complaint filed by Madison Police Officer Tanner Wilkerson, Rice forcibly dragged, shoved and jerked a student at the school on or about Oct. 25, 2018. Detectives learned of the incident while investigating another incident between a contract employee and a student at the school, which is in Limestone County.

In that case, Wilkerson said 37-year-old Jamerson Lee Baker of Huntsville grabbed a student around their neck on or about March 5, lifting them out of the chair and forcing them back into the chair. Baker then pushed the child backwards, bending the child’s back over the chair, according to the complaint.

Baker was arrested in late April on the same charge Rice now faces. Stringer would not confirm if the incidents involved the same student, but he did say the investigation is complete at this time. 

Rice remained Tuesday afternoon in the Limestone County Jail with bail set at $20,000. 

Superintendent responds

Madison City Schools Superintendent Robby Parker responded Tuesday afternoon to news of the second arrest. In a statement, he confirmed Rice was previously assigned to work as an aide through a contract with a staffing agency but had not been employed at any Madison City school since October 2018.

Parker declined to specifically address the incident or charges “in light of the sensitive nature of the investigation being conducted by local law enforcement.” He said the school district is conducting its own thorough review.