Mother Arrested After Accusing Teacher of Child Abuse

A Lutz mother who accused a Veterans Elementary School teacher of child abuse now faces a charge of filing a false police report.

According to a Pasco County incident report, Michele Bella, 41, told deputies a teacher at the Wesley Chapel school shook her son in the cafeteria on Sept. 27. Bella told a deputy she was waiting for her son in the cafeteria when she saw him walk in. A teacher, she said, yelled at her son for running. Bella also said the teacher grabbed the child “by the shoulders and turned him towards her and began to shake him,” the report said.

The deputy reviewed the school’s surveillance video and spoke with several witnesses. Bella’s allegations were not corroborated, the report said.

After reviewing the case, it was decided that Bella had filed a false police report.

When deputies arrived at her 26916 Roseann Place home Nov. 7 to arrest her, Bella refused to answer the door. After 15 minutes of knocking, Bella finally opened the door, the report said. She told deputies she knew why they were there, but continued to insist that she knew what she saw, the report said.

Bella was charged with filing a false report. She was released from the Land O’ Lakes Jail on $150 bond.