Teacher tells students to cut and burn themselves to rid their bodies of demons in bizarre ritual

A Florida teacher was arrested on child abuse charges after allegedly encouraging her students to cut and burn themselves in order to rid their bodies of evil spirits.

Danielle Harkins, 35, allegedly brought seven teens to a spot by the pier in St. Petersburg on Saturday, and began the strange religious ritual by starting a small fire, police told WTSP News.

The teacher then told the teens to cut themselves to cast out demons lurking in their bodies, and cauterize the wounds to prevent the spirits from returning, investigators said.

"There was apparently some chanting and then dancing around this fire that was taking place," St. Petersburg Police Department spokesman Mike Puetz told Fox Tampa Bay.

Two kids were cut, and one sustained second-degree burns after the teacher allegedly poured perfume on his wound and lit it with a cigarette lighter, investigators told WTSP.

One of them was cut in the neck with a broken bottle and the wound was cauterized with a heated-up house key, authorities told Bay News 9.

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/crime/teacher-tells-students-cut-burn-rid-bodies-demons-bizarre-ritual-police-article-1.1095545