Prechae Rodriguez, a former football player for Auburn, was arrested earlier this week for an incident involving a 9-year-old student at a school in Florida where he worked. He is currently out on bond.
Rodriguez, 39, is accused of hitting a non-verbal autistic pupil at the Eisenhower Exceptional Center in Gibsonton, Florida, a suburb of Tampa. As a result, he is charged with one count of child abuse. Rodriguez was a behavior assistance specialist employed by the school.
The Tampa Bay Times reports that the incident happened on February 8. Rodriguez is accused by the police of hitting the pupil after the youngster hit Rodriguez with his hand, sending the boy to the ground.
Rodriguez was taken into custody at his Sun City Center, Florida, residence on Monday afternoon after the incident was looked into. On a $2,500 surety bond, he was freed early on Tuesday, according to online records kept by the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office.
Rodriguez’s employment at the school was terminated, according to WFLA-TV.
The Hillsborough County School District told the station in a statement that “Mr. Rodriguez was removed from the school while the investigation was going on and has now been terminated from the school district.” “The charges have severely troubled us. Our first concern is the security and well-being of our pupils.
Rodriguez, a native of Tampa, spent a season in junior college before playing at Auburn from 2005 to 2007. Most famously, he was the recipient of the game-winning touchdown pass in the third quarter of the Tigers’ 22-15 victory over Alabama at the Tuscaloosa Iron Bowl in 2006.
Rodriguez played professionally for several years in the Canadian Football League and with several indoor league clubs, but he was never successful in the NFL. His most recent Arena Football League stint was in 2016 with the Tampa Bay Storm, his hometown team.
