Sharon teacher says student punched, bit him

The teacher testified that a student punched and bit him.

STAFF REPORT

SHARON, Pa. — A student who’s charged with aggravated assault over an altercation with a teacher had his case sent from district to common pleas court.

Nicholas Sawyers, 18, of Irvine Avenue, is free meanwhile on $7,500 bond after his arrest Dec. 22 at Sharon High School.

Police arrested him after he was accused of punching teacher Paul Torr and then biting him on the wrist.

Torr is a special education teacher and is also the school’s athletic director.

In testimony at a preliminary hearing Friday before Senior District Magistrate Henry Russo, Torr said his confrontation with Sawyers happened around 11 a.m. in a computer room on the school’s third floor.

He said he took issue with language Sawyers used when Sawyers asked other students in the room to be quiet.

When he told Sawyers to watch his language, Torr said, Sawyers swore at him.

When Torr asked Sawyers his name, he said, Sawyers told him it was none of his business, swearing at him again.

Torr said he told Sawyers to get up because they were going to the principal’s office, but Sawyers refused and kept swearing at him.

He said he tapped Sawyers on his arm, and Sawyers jumped out of his seat.

Torr testified Sawyers ended up pushing him three times, then punched him in the cheek.

After the punch, Torr said, he grabbed Sawyers in a bear hug and pulled him to the floor, where he restrained him until two school principals and the superintendent entered the room.

At some point while he was being restrained, Sawyers bit Torr’s wrist, Torr testified, and broke the skin.

He was treated at Sharon Regional Hospital. He was given a tetanus shot and his cheek was X-rayed, he said.

Under questioning by Sawyers’ defense attorney, Jarrett Whalen, Torr said he remained as calm as he could during the confrontation, because he thought it was important to try to diffuse the situation as it was escalating.

There were no other witnesses who testified.