A Florida jury has found a Miami-area special needs teacher guilty of abuse after authorities say she put hot sauce in an autistic student's soda.

Sylvia Tagle was recently convicted.Authorities allege that she gave the spiked soda to the student to teach him a lesson. Tagle says the boy grabbed the soda from her desk while she was occupied helping other students.

Jurors found Tagle not guilty of three other charges, including pulling a student's hair. Her attorney says she's a strict but dedicated teacher who maintains her innocence. She contended that the student grabbed the spiked soda from her desk; she did not deliberately put hot sauce into a drink that belonged to the little boy.

Tagle taught at the Bob Graham Educational Center in Miami Lakes. Her sentencing has some locals up in arms. She was sentenced to 200 hours of community service and two years for what detractors see as a sadistic act, and not a "real world teaching lesson" (i.e. bad acts have consequences).

Initial reports revealed that Tagle faced up to five years in prison after being convicted of child abuse in October 2009.

But the sentencing has some parents red hot after they learned Tagle won't spend time behind bars.

Mario Serralta, whose son had some of the spicy soda, held a press conference after the sentencing to express his displeasure with the decision. Sarralta stated that his autistic son, who was seven years old at the time, has not spoken since the incident, despite therapy to overcome the traumatizing incident.

"We did not get any justice today," he said. "How could this woman do such a sadistic act on such a defenseless child and the court (do) nothing?"

It's unclear where Tagle will do her community service or if she will be allowed to work around kids again. The descendant of Mexican immigrants, Tagle told jurors that she puts hot sauce on everything, including her soft drinks.

"I love it," she testified. "It's part of my culture. I put it in sodas, in salad...

Sources: WFOR-TV, http://www.wfor.com/ and http://www.nbcmiami.com/news/localbeat/Hot-Sauce-Teacher-Avoids-Jail

How you feel about this incident depends on your outlook on many things, including the modern definition of child abuse. Go online and see what the boy's father has to say, and decide for yourself if Tagle's punishment fits the crime - Anne.

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