Teacher Must Pay $15K for Washing Kid's Mouth Out with Soap

(Austin, Texas) A teacher at Sims Elementary School, Susan Miller-Smith, accused of washing a boy's mouth out with soap for his foul language, has been ordered by a jury to pay $15,000 damages in a civil suit.

Tony Lamaro Johnson and Juanita Johnson, grandparents of Tony Lamaro Johnson II, who is now 7, had sued Susan Miller-Smith, the boy's former teacher.

Miller-Smith was accused of putting soap in Lamaro's mouth on Feb. 23, 2006.

A Travis County grand jury later declined to charge Miller-Smith with a crime. She resigned from her job with the Austin Independent School District in March 2006, a district official said.

On Friday, a jury in state district court awarded $5,000 for pain and mental anguish and $10,000 for future mental anguish, the documents said.

Boy, they really taught the foul-mouthed youngster a lesson, eh?