A Butler County prosecutor asked a judge Thursday, May 21, to reverse his decision dismissing charges of simple assault and harassment that were filed against a former Knoch School District teacher for slapping an 8-year-old special needs student after he bit her.

Common Pleas Court Judge Joseph Kubit said he would review arguments before issuing a decision.

State police filed charges against Carly A. Miller, 36, of Allison Park, who was terminated from her job as a second- and third-grade learning support teacher at Knoch Primary Center in Jefferson Township as a result of the Nov. 26, 2024, incident.

In charging documents, police said they received a Childline report Nov. 27, explaining the incident. Police said the student was attempting to enter another classroom when Miller grabbed him by the arms and wrists. Police said the student bit Miller on her forearm, which led to Miller slapping the student in the face.

Police said they received an email Dec. 20 from superintendent David Foley, including screenshots of text messages between Miller and her teacher’s aide, who was present for the incident.

The screenshots showed conversations between the two five days before the incident that show Miller saying “I’m going to kick [the student] if he ever bites me again” and calling the child profanities, police said.

A school representative told police Miller has received annual training for working with special needs students since 2017. Her most recent training was Feb. 19, 2024, and she would have received an update Feb. 17.

Miller was placed on leave while the district investigated the incident, and her employment was terminated in March 2025. The charges police filed against her had been held for court at a preliminary hearing in May 2025.

A pretrial motion to dismiss the charges was filed in February this year by defense attorney Steven Valsamidis, and was granted by Kubit on April 30, a day after a hearing on the motion.

Assistant district attorney Mark Lope argued Thursday that the charges should be reinstated because a prima-facie case was presented, meaning there is enough evidence was presented to allow a judge or jury to decide whether or not she is guilty.

He cited the text Miller sent to the aide five days before the incident as well as other text messages, and said the boy seemed to be in pain after being slapped in a video recording, but the video doesn’t show her slapping the boy.

Lope said it is common sense to conclude that a child would be in pain after being slapped in the face by an adult. The evidence should be accepted as true and the case should proceed to court, Lope said. He asked Kubit to reverse his decision.

Valsamidis said a prima-facie case was not presented. He said the only testimony at the preliminary hearing came from a trooper. The video showed numerous people in the area where the incident occurred, but none of them were called as witnesses, he said.

The prosecution is now asking the court to consider matters that are not part of the case record, such as the boy being nonverbal, he said. There is no testimony about the boy being nonverbal and unable to voice pain, but the motion to reconsider says he is nonverbal, he said.

Valsamidis said the video “doesn’t show much” and the text messages were “dry.”

“Speculation and conjecture can’t lead to charges,” Valsamidis said.

Kubit said he doesn’t agree that it is common sense to conclude that a slap necessarily results in substantial pain. Substantial pain is an element of a simple assault charge, he said.

He said the slap was not recorded, and evidence of the intensity of the slap should have been presented.

Kubit said is greatest concern was that a woman, who appeared in the video to be in a position to witness the slap, was not called as a witness.

“Why didn’t we hear from her. I don’t understand why,” Kubit said.

Lope said it is common to not present all evidence at a preliminary hearing, and that Kubit was considering proof beyond a reasonable doubt instead of whether a prima-facie case, which has a lower burden of proof, was presented.

He said the video shows the boy’s reaction to being slapped.

“Why not call the best witness? I was waiting,” Kubit said.