An elderly Florida school worker was dramatically hauled into custody in a parking lot after allegedly being caught slapping a child in the back of the head for skipping the cafeteria line. 

Maria Graham, 80, a former employee at Deltona Lakes Elementary School, about 25 miles northeast of Orlando, was arrested Monday on suspicion of child abuse following an incident involving a nine-year-old girl, Fox 35 Orlando reported.

Days earlier, the child told her mother that Graham hit her in the back of the head as she sat down with her food, prompting her mother to contact the school's principal. 

Surveillance footage later reviewed by police showed the caretaker following the student from the kitchen into the cafeteria and striking her, sending the girl jolting forward, according to an arrest report obtained by the outlet. 

Graham, meanwhile, told investigators she may have lightly touched the child's head as she raised her arm to discipline the student, who she said had been misbehaving. 

In bodycam footage obtained by Local 12 News, she appeared calm as she was seen with her hands cuffed in front of her while deputies placed her in the back of a patrol car. 

A later clip showed the seemingly out-of-place Graham in an orange jumpsuit appearing at a podium before the judge, with several younger female inmates seated behind her. 

She was released on her own recognizance, with the judge ordering that she have no contact with the listed victim.

A spokesperson for Volusia County Schools confirmed that Graham resigned from her position the day after the alleged altercation, before her arrest, according to Fox.

'The safety and well-being of our students is our highest priority,' the district said.

The alleged violence unfolded on September 17 at the elementary school where Graham worked in the Extended Day Enrichment Program, school officials told the outlet.

During the after-school program, the nine-year-old told her mother that Graham smacked the back of her head shortly after she grabbed some food and sat down in the cafeteria. 

An investigation was launched after it was reported to the school, prompting the principal, the girl's parents and police to review surveillance footage from inside the building. 

Graham was seen following the student from the kitchen to the cafeteria before forcefully hitting the back of her head, causing it to 'move forward,' according to the arrest report. 

The incident left the child shaken and terrified, with the girl allegedly telling investigators she did not want to return to school. 

In her interview with police, Graham shifted the blame onto the child, accusing her of behaving so badly that she had to be sent home with a behavioral report. 

She said the student had tried to cut the dinner line, pushed other students and shrugged her shoulders when she was ordered to move to the back.

Graham told investigators she planned to take the child to the front of the cafeteria after she continued being disrespectful, and admitted she may have raised her hand during the interaction.

But she said she had no recollection of intentionally hitting the girl's head and claimed she may have only lightly touched it instead.