LINCOLNTON, N.C. -- A Lincoln County Schools elementary school principal has been arrested and charged in connection with an incident that happened on November 27 at Union Elementary School.

• The incident happened on November 27
• The principal is facing a misdemeanor assault charge
• The child involved is under 12, according to authorities 

The Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office received a report on November 30 that a student at Union Elementary had been assaulted by the principal. While investigating, they discovered that the principal, 43-year-old Patrick Nelson, grabbed the student by the back of the shirt collar, causing the student to fall on the floor. The student was then dragged back into Nelson's office.

'"There were witnesses in the office that were spoken to and there is also a video that we viewed,” Lt. Matt Lykins with the Lincoln County Sheriff's Office said.

Nelson is charged with one misdemeanor count of assault on a child under 12 years old. Lincoln County Schools have also reportedly paced Nelson on suspension.

“We'll take every avenue to make sure all students, all kids are protected at schools. On the flip side of things, we'll investigate the case to make sure that all charges are substantiated and not just charge on a whim,” Lykins said.

Spectrum News spoke to a classmate of the student who was assaulted. The classmate said the student was back in class but does see him act out occasionally.

“When he gets upset he goes to a corner and sits down and sometimes he ends up throwing a chair and flipping his desk,” the student said.