OAN Staff Abril Elfi
4:17 PM – Wednesday, September 11, 2024
A New York teacher has been arrested after being accused of dragging a 5-year-old across the classroom in a headlock while the child screamed “I can’t breathe.”
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Special Education teacher Anthony Wicks, 42, appeared in front of a judge on Tuesday on charges of assault and acting in a manner injurious to a child. During the arraignment he was ordered to stay away from the child.
According to the criminal complaint, Wicks allegedly grabbed the boy by the neck with both hands and dragged “the child across the room while the child was in the headlock.”
Prosecutors stated that the attack happened in front of another teacher.
Reports have stated that the incident occurred after the child refused to go in a time-out corner.
“He was making a fuss about going in the time-out … and then the teacher choked him,” the boy’s older brother told the station.
“That teacher wasn’t the one who was even talking to him … What other people have told me is that when he was getting choked, he was crying and then wouldn’t calm down,” the brother added.
The boy’s dad also spoke about the attack saying it was a “very scary moment” for his son, who was later sent to Columbia Presbyterian Hospital.
“He said that … his teacher’s hands were tight around his neck and that he said that he would be good and that he asked the teacher to let go,” he told CBS New York.
According to a Department of Education spokesperson, Wicks was “immediately removed” from the PS 153 Adam Clayon Powell Jr. Elementary School after the altercation.
“Pending the outcome of the arrest and if convicted, we will pursue their termination. There is nothing more important than the safety and well-being of our students,” the DOE added.
Wicks was granted supervised release at his arraignment. His next court date is scheduled for October 23rd.
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