NEW ROCHELLE, N.Y., June 17 (UPI) -- Police in New Rochelle, N.Y., say a substitute teacher allegedly put an 11-year-old child in a choke hold and called him names over a dodgeball game.
The New York Post said Wednesday that 58-year-old substitute gym teacher Daniel Sanabria faces charges of third-degree assault, aggravated harassment and endangering the welfare of a child over the alleged incident at Daniel Webster Elementary School.
Sanabria is accused of responding to student's opposition to a dodgeball ruling by calling him names and pushing his head into a wall before placing the child in a choke hold.
Police said Sanabria denies teasing the boy, whose identity was not reported, or putting him into a choke hold. The substitute teacher also maintains he only reacted after the child threw a punch at him during last Friday's incident.
"I'm neither a criminal nor a child abuser," Sanabria, who has two children, told the Post. "This child needs help, and I don't think he's in a situation where he has the resources to get the help."
