No charges will be filed against a Darlington County teacher accused of assaulting a student, police say.
According to Lt. Mark Blair, with the Hartsville Police Department, a judge looked at video of the incident and decided the incident didn’t rise to the level of assault and battery. Paperwork for a warrant was not signed.
Blair told News13 a person must prove intent to cause injury with an assault and battery case, and the judge didn’t think the incident met that.
Police received a report about a student at Hartsville Middle School being assaulted by a teacher on Friday, Blair said. The teacher allegedly took the student’s backpack during a class change and the student fell over.
The school resource officer was notified on Monday about the incident and that was when the investigation began, Lt. Blair also said. Officers began conducting interviews and looking at video.
“This week allegations were made against a teacher. School administrators acted timely and appropriately by notifying law enforcement. The teacher was placed on administrative leave with pay, pending the outcome of the investigation,” Audrey Childers, the Darlington County School District’s public information officer, said in a statement on Wednesday.
