Clovis Unified teacher placed on leave after 5th grader says he cut her hair

CLOVIS, Calif. (KFSN) -- A Clovis Unified teacher has been placed on administrative leave after a 5th grade student accused him of cutting a lock of her hair in front of the class.

The longtime educator has worked at Freedom Elementary since 2015.

The teacher in question will continue to collect paychecks while the the school district investigates the incident.

Clovis Unified was notified earlier this week of the incident and immediately took action.

Freedom Elementary's principal Kristen Belknap sent a message to parents following the incident, saying in part:

"The initial investigation has not revealed any malicious intent behind inadvertently cutting a lock of hair from the student's head, but any behavior that puts a student's safety at potential risk is completely unacceptable and will not be tolerated on our campus."

The 10-year-old student's parents did not want to go on camera but their lawyer released this statement:

"This has been an extremely traumatic ordeal for the Boragno family and their little girl. We appreciate that CUSD has reached out to us through their attorneys. It is our hope to sit down with them in the very near future to discuss an appropriate resolution that will ensure the safety of this little girl and that of the other students at Freedom Elementary."

There is no timetable on a resolution into the incident while the school district continues its investigation.

"From our perspective we want every child who comes to our school to feel welcomed and supported and know they have caring adults on campus to be there to help them be successful," says CUSD spokesperson Kelly Avants.

As part of the investigation -- Clovis Unified is looking into not only what happened but why and if there was any malicious intent behind the incident.