CUMMING - A college intern at a Forsyth County elementary school is in trouble with the law and with her college for allegedly stealing an iPad from a 6-year-old student.<br />
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Forsyth County Sheriff's Deputy Doug Rainwater said Kelsey Rose Salie, 21, of Flowery Branch was working as a teaching intern at Chestatee Elementary School at the time of the theft.<br />
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Salie apparently took the iPad from the little boy's backpack.<br />
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"This child had the iPad in his backpack at school, thinking it was safe," said Rainwater. <br />
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He said the boy's mother filed a complaint with the Sheriff's Office following the theft, but he said it was also the boy's mother who told authorities she found the iPad.<br />
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"The parent came back to us and said that she had located her son's iPad on Facebook - that someone was attempting to sell the same exact iPad and she bought it," said Rainwater.<br />
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Turns out that iPad, which she bought for $200, was being sold via Salie's boyfriend's Facebook page. Rainwater said authorities began to "put two and two together" and made the link to Salie.<br />
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"We brought the intern [Salie] in for an interview and she admitted taking the iPad from the child's backpack and from that point, we charged her with theft by taking, which is a misdemeanor."<br />
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Rainwater said Salie told investigators she had planned to use the money from the sale of the iPad to buy Christmas gifts. She has since returned the money to the child's mother.<br />
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Salie is a student at the University of North Georgia, and university officials said they take the theft charges very seriously.<br />
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"This is an isolated incident, but we take it very seriously," said Kate Maine, director of university relations for UNG.<br />
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"We value our partnership with many local school systems that help train and prepare our students to become teachers."<br />
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Maine said she did not know what action would be taken in Salie's case, noting that the UNG Student Conduct Board would review the case once the legal aspects of the case are resolved.<br />
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Salie has bonded out of jail since the alleged theft, according to Rainwater. A court hearing will take place in the future, although Rainwater did not have a specific date for the hearing.<br />
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Rainwater said the incident with a teaching intern was the first of its sort ever handled by the Forsyth County Sheriff's Office.<br />
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