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ELYRIA, Ohio (WJW) — An Elyria City Schools parent seen on camera appearing to pepper-spray an elementary school principal is now under felony indictment.
Jessica L. Houze, 27, of Elyria, is accused of spraying the principal of Hamilton Elementary School in the face the morning of Tuesday, April 18.
An indictment handed up Thursday, June 1, in Lorain County Common Pleas Court brings fourth- and fifth-degree felony counts of assault as well as a fourth-degree misdemeanor count of criminal trespass, records show.
Houze was given a combined $5,250 bond at her earlier arraignment in Elyria Municipal Court, which she has since posted, according to court records. She was also ordered to have no contact with the victims.
In the April 18 incident, the principal told police he saw Houze arguing with and yelling obscenities at the school’s assistant principal — who was trying to keep the woman from entering the school through an unauthorized doorway — and another school official.
The confrontation was caught on camera:
When the principal approached, Houze allegedly began “bombarding” him with obscenities, saying: “That’s the guy I want.”
When he told Houze to leave and attempted to shut the door, she sprayed him in the face with the device, which was attached to her keys.
The surveillance footage also appears to show Houze using the spray to threaten the school’s assistant principal, who was seven months pregnant at the time. That woman was not harmed.
The school entered a modified lockdown after the alleged attack, according to a previous statement from the district.
Houze turned herself in to police hours later.
Future court dates have not been set.