McKINNEY – A municipal court jury found George Anaya, a McKinney ISD teacher, not guilty of misdemeanor assault against a student.
Several other students and the principal at Faubion Middle School all testified in the trial that lasted three hours Thursday night.
In February, the city attorney filed a misdemeanor assault charge against Anaya for allegedly pushing Noah Prater, 14, into a locker because he brought the wrong supplies to a class project.
Anaya pushed the boy into a locker because Noah brought round toothpicks to school rather than flat ones for a class project, a school district investigation revealed.
The City of McKinney filed a charge of "assault by contact" against the engineering teacher.
In a letter to Tamara Prater earlier this year, McKinney ISD acknowledged that Mr. Anaya's inappropriate conduct occurred, but since Noah was not hurt, the district decided to reinstate Anaya and remove her son from class.
"I'm kinda just mad that I'm the one sitting by myself in the library, and he's in the classroom without any punishment," Noah told News 8 in February.
“The district cannot deny being aware of this situation or risk they have exposed students to by keeping Anaya in the classroom,” Tamara Prater said after the trial.
She said she is still considering pursuing civil charges against the teacher.
E-mail: jwhitely@wfaa.com
