Norton Elementary teacher charged with aggravated child abuse for allegedly ripping off adopted daughter’s fake fingernails

Staff report

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Johanna Lynn Sedgley, 66, was arrested on Tuesday and charged with aggravated child abuse after allegedly ripping off her adopted daughter’s fake fingernails, resulting in one fingernail being completely ripped out of the nail bed. Sedgley is a second-grade teacher at Norton Elementary School.

The 15-year-old victim reportedly went to her school nurse on Tuesday, complaining that her fingers hurt too much to do her work. The nurse reported the injuries to law enforcement and the Department of Children and Families, and a forensic interview was conducted with the victim.

The victim reportedly said that she had gotten fake nails glued on the previous day, and Sedgley had said they were a “distraction.” She said Sedgley started ripping the nails off, and when she started crying and asked her to stop, Sedgley allegedly held her hand down and used her other hand to rip off each nail, one by one. The victim said she tried to pull her hands away, but Sedgley just gripped her harder. A nurse reportedly told investigators that one of the victim’s nails had been ripped out of the nail bed, which could lead to permanent damage and pain from having an exposed nail bed.

The victim said she asked Sedgley if she could get a bandage, but Sedgley would not let her have one. She said her finger was bleeding, so she held a washcloth on it to get it to stop bleeding. She said she tried to do her work at school, but her fingers hurt too much.

The victim said Sedgley has threatened multiple times to send her back to foster care.

A sworn complaint was filed against Sedgley in February for child neglect against the same victim, but she has not yet been booked on that charge.

Post Miranda, Sedgley reportedly admitted that she ripped off the victim’s fake nails. She said she was unaware that the victim was in pain despite reportedly admitting that the victim was crying, screaming, and repeatedly telling her it hurt and asking her to stop. She reportedly agreed that she made a mistake.

Sedgley reportedly denied threatening to send the victim back to foster care, but she said she told the victim she had “two options: staying with her or going back to foster care.”

Alachua County Public Schools confirmed that Sedgley is a second-grade teacher at Norton Elementary and said she is “currently on leave.”

Sedgley has no criminal convictions; Judge Susan Miller-Jones ordered her held without bail pending a hearing on the State Attorney’s motion to hold her without bail until trial. The motion argues that “there are no conditions of release reasonably sufficient to protect the community from the risk of physical harm to persons.”

Articles about arrests are based on reports from law enforcement agencies. The charges listed are taken from the arrest report and/or court records and are only accusations. All suspects are innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.