NYC teacher accused of putting 5-year-old boy in chokehold, police say
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NEW YORK, New York (WCBS) — A teacher was arrested after allegedly putting a 5-year-old student in a chokehold at a Manhattan elementary school, police said.
Anthony Wicks, 46, is charged with second-degree assault and acting in a manner injurious to a child. Prosecutors allege the teacher grabbed the student’s neck with both hands and put him in a headlock.
Wicks walked out of Manhattan Criminal Court silently with his husband Tuesday night, leaving on supervised release after his arraignment. The judge ordered Wicks not to have contact with the child, and when asked if he understood, Wicks replied to the judge, “Yes, of course.”
This is Wicks’ first arrest. He is a full-time special education teacher, and his attorney says Wicks has worked for the city’s education department for five years and at a preschool for three years before that.
Teacher choked 5-year-old who wouldn’t go in “time-out corner,” brother says
Police said the incident happened Monday inside a classroom at P.S. 153 Adam Clayton Powell Jr. Elementary School in Hamilton Heights.
The child’s older brother told CBS News New York’s Lisa Rozner it happened when the 5-year-old wouldn’t go in the “time-out corner,” per a directive from the head teacher. Parents describe Wicks as an assistant teacher.
“He was making a fuss about going in the time-out … and then the teacher choked him,” the brother said. “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 child’s father said the principal called around noon Monday to say the boy was fine, but the parents needed to come to school.
“It was a very scary moment for him. 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 his teacher to let go,” the child’s father said.
A Department of Education spokesperson said, “This alleged behavior is completely unacceptable, and this employee has been immediately removed from this site. 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.”
CBS News New York tried to reach Wicks by phone, but has not yet heard back. He is awaiting arraignment on the charges.
Mom says school did not notify other parents of alleged chokehold incident
One parent of a child in the 5-year-old’s class came to the school Tuesday because she said she was very upset the school never notified her of the incident.
“I had to find out through social media,” she said. “That teacher is the teacher of my child, my 5-year-old child, and it’s so upsetting because the school did not disclose anything … I went to go speak in there, and they couldn’t give me any information. I want to withdraw him today.”
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