Prechae Rodriguez, a former Auburn football player, is out on bond after being arrested earlier this week for an incident involving a 9-year-old youngster at the Florida school where he works.
Rodriguez, 39, faces one count of child abuse after allegedly hitting a nonverbal autistic student at the Eisenhower Exceptional Centre in Gibsonton, Fla., a suburb of Tampa. Rodriguez worked at the school as a behaviour assistance consultant.
According to the Tampa Bay Times, the incident took place on February 8. The pupil allegedly slapped Rodriguez with his hand, and police say Rodriguez replied by punching the child, knocking him to the ground.
Following an inquiry into the event, Rodriguez was arrested on Monday afternoon at his home in Sun City Centre, Florida. He was freed early Tuesday on a $2,500 surety bail, according to online records from the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office.
According to WFLA-TV, Rodriguez was fired from his position at the school.
“Mr. Rodriguez was removed from the school while the investigation was ongoing and has now been terminated from the school district,” the Hillsborough County School District said in a statement to the station. “The charges have left us very troubled. The safety and well-being of our pupils is our first priority.”
Rodriguez, a Tampa native, played at Auburn from 2005 to 2007, following a season in junior college. Most notably, he scored the game-winning touchdown pass in the third quarter of the Tigers’ 22-15 victory over Alabama in the 2006 Iron Bowl in Tuscaloosa.
Rodriguez never made it to the NFL, but he did play professionally for several years in the Canadian Football League and for a number of indoor league clubs. He last played in 2016 with his hometown Tampa Bay Storm of the Arena Football League.
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