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Former MU Graduate Assistant Accused of Assaulting Teenager Over Hijab

Torie Ross
/
KBIA

A former University of Missouri graduate teaching assistant is accused of grabbing a teenage family member by the hair and pulling her out of school because she wasn't wearing a traditional headscarf worn by some Muslim women.

The Columbia Daily Tribune reports 53-year-old Youssif Omar was arrested Wednesday at his home on suspicion of felony child abuse. He was released from the Boone County Jail after posting $4,500 bond.

Police spokeswoman Latisha Stroer says officers were called to Columbia's Hickman High School Tuesday after Omar became irate when he noticed a 14-year-old family member not wearing a hijab.

Stroer says Omar grabbed the girl "very violently by the hair" and pulled her outside and down some stairs.

Omar didn't immediately respond to an email Sunday seeking comment.

CORRECTION: In a story Nov. 29 about a man accused of pulling a teenage family member out school because she wasn't wearing a traditional headscarf worn by some Muslim women, The Associated Press erroneously reported that the man is a graduate teaching assistant at the University of Missouri. The man's job as a graduate research assistant ended in July 14, 2015. The article and headline for this story have been changed to correct this error.

The Associated Press is one of the largest and most trusted sources of independent newsgathering, supplying a steady stream of news to its members, international subscribers and commercial customers. AP is neither privately owned nor government-funded; instead, it's a not-for-profit news cooperative owned by its American newspaper and broadcast members.