Principal didn’t report teen’s abuse of 4-year-old at school day care, FL cops say

A high school principal was aware of a 16-year-old inappropriately touching a 4-year-old at a school-run day care but did not alert law enforcement, Florida deputies said.

The abuse was reported to Jazrick Haggins, 42, the then-principal of Spoto High School in Riverview, in April, according to an Oct. 25 news release from the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office.

It “went unreported to the Department of Children and Families and law enforcement for 14 days,” the sheriff’s office said.

Now, Haggins is charged with failure to report child abuse, according to authorities. He was arrested Oct. 24.

Information on Haggins’ legal representation was not immediately available.

A Hillsborough County Public Schools spokesperson told WTSP-TV that Haggins is no longer the principal of Spoto High School. He was on leave while under investigation in connection with allegedly not reporting the abuse in the spring.

Haggins told authorities that he knew the 16-year-old was accused of inappropriately touching a child and that he was working on “his own investigation,” deputies said.

Following his arrest, Haggins was booked in the Polk County Jail, the office said.

Riverview is about a 15-mile drive southeast from Tampa.

This story was originally published October 26, 2025 at 4:31 PM with the headline "Principal didn’t report teen’s abuse of 4-year-old at school day care, FL cops say."

Julia Marnin

McClatchy DC

Julia Marnin covers courts for McClatchy News, writing about criminal and civil affairs, including cases involving policing, corrections, civil liberties, fraud, and abuses of power. As a reporter on McClatchy’s National Real-Time Team, she’s also covered the COVID-19 pandemic and a variety of other topics since joining in 2021, following a fellowship with Newsweek. Born in Biloxi, Mississippi, she was raised in South Jersey and is now based in New York State.