Woman arrested for 'tightly hugging' her autistic brother, nine, to calm him ... trends now

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A woman, who was arrested in front of other parents at her brother's school after teachers accused her of punching her sibling, has said she received death threats after the 'nightmare' incident.

Rebecca Riley, 28, was handcuffed and taken away from Ravensworth Primary in Bromley, south-east London by police after restraining her autistic nine-year-old brother John in a way she had been taught.

Teachers accused Ms Riley of punching her sibling in the face as she dropped him off at the school at 10am - and by 3.30pm, when she returned to collect him, police were there to arrest her.

Ms Riley, who has eight brothers and sisters, insisted that John had not wanted to go to school that morning and had been hitting her so she 'hugged him tightly and stroked him' in a way that worked to calm him down at home.

Police later reviewed the CCTV footage and dropped the case due to 'insufficient evidence' on June 11 2023 - two days after the arrest - while Ms Riley was on bail at her friend's house.