Teacher Charged, on Leave for Dragging Student

Teacher Charged, on Leave for Dragging Student - ABC News

A Central California physical education teacher was charged with a misdemeanor and put on leaveafter he tried to drag a 14-year-old girl across the concrete and into the high school's pool.

Denny Peterson, a teacher at Edison High School in Stockton, was charged this week with amisdemeanor count of corporal injury to a child, the Stockton Record reported Friday.

Peterson was filmed with a cellphone by another student while he dragged Sandra Garcia toward thepool in August.

Garcia's attorney Gilbert Somera says she was left with scratches and bruises on her back afterbeing dragged.

"When you have been bullied by an adult in front of your classmates, it places you in a verydistressing situation," he said. "It's embarrassing for a young girl like that."

Garcia told Sacramento's News 10 she initially got in the pool but refused to fully submerge in thewater because she didn't want to get her hair wet. When she got out of the pool Peterson tried todrag her back into it.

District officials said they couldn't comment on the case because of the alleged incident involves aminor.

Peterson, a 10-year employee of the school,has no history of complaints with thedistrict. He could lose his job if convicted ofthe charge.

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Information from: The Stockton Record,http://www.recordnet.com/