Dad punches "teacher": Right or Wrong?

[Dr Mordrid]

What he did may not be right, but IMO it sure as hell wasn't completely wrong.

Dad punches out teacher's aide accused of molesting daughter

"I'm not real proud of what I did," Swafford told The Associated Press Wednesday. "You have to protect your children, and my daughter does not lie to me."

Because of the allegation, the school placed the assistant on paid leave Tuesday, school district spokeswoman Margi Nanney said. He has not been charged, but Manatee County Sheriff's Office spokesman Dave Bristow said deputies are investigating.

The man has been employed by the Manatee County school district since 1999 and has a clean personnel record, Nanney said. His primary job is "time-out" teacher, overseeing in-school suspension. His name is being withheld by the AP because he has not been charged.

Swafford, the part owner of an air conditioning company, said he came to the school to meet with officials about allegations made by his daughter and other female students about the assistant's inappropriate touching and conduct. When he saw that the man was not in the meeting, he asked his daughter to take him to the classroom.

"I wanted to know why the guy was in a classroom teaching after my daughter came forward," he said.

A verbal exchange became heated, and "I lost control," he said. He spent about 10 hours in jail and got out later Tuesday after posting bond.

The Tampa radio station that named him "Father of the Year" offered him and his family tickets for the Daytona 500 race.

"If some other parents would do this, maybe some of these pedophiles would crawl back under rocks where they belong," Swafford said.

If this had been my daughter the guy would still be trying to extract his head out of his arse. I'd also probably be after the school administrators for putting that jackass in a classroom with kids who had already accused him of untoward activity.

Dr. Mordrid

[Wombat]

IF this guy *did* anything. For me, it's as likely to be true as not. "...and my daughter does not lie to me." Well, she was in in-school suspension, so she's probably been lying to *somebody*. Kids make all sorts of stupid sh*t up about students they don't like, and suspension supervisors are the top of that list.


Plus, it's stupid to actually go looking for the guy, during school hours.

[Jessterw]

Well it says that other female students came forward as well, so that lends a bit more credibility to the daughter.

It was stupid to confront the guy during school hours. I would have caught him as he was walking to his car afterwards. With two daughters of my own (neither at that age yet, thank god), I can't fault him for knocking the guy with a good one.

[KvHagedorn]

Doesn't say how old the girls were who were accusing him. It might be true that they were ganging up on him for some reason (watch The Breakfast Club and tell me those students wouldn't want to "get" that ass hole supervisor somehow), but then.. who knows? I know parents tend to think of their kids as sweet innocents even when they aren't anymore, and if it had been me and someone had messed with my daughter, I wouldn't have been any different.. some fool knight in armor for my little girl. If she DID lie about it, I bet she felt about one inch tall after her Dad went to that extreme for her.

[Wombat]

Well it says that other female students came forward as well, so that lends a bit more credibility to the daughter.

Not much. Once one student says anything about a teacher, copycats are highly likely. I saw it growing up. In my HS, there was one gym teacher fired for sleeping with an adult student, one teacher (coach of girls' basketball) jailed for molestation, but *plenty* of false accusations of good clean teachers. People involved in disciplinary roles are especially big targets.

[Jessterw]

Well I've seen what happens when accusations are ignored because people in charge thought the same thing.

Can go both ways and the problem is it's almost always handled with prejudice in on direction or the other.

[Wombat]

Well I've seen what happens when accusations are ignored because people in charge thought the same thing.

Can go both ways and the problem is it's almost always handled with prejudice in on direction or the other.

Fine. But we have laws and rules and investigations, for exactly these reasons. It's a little early to go punching teachers that students don't like. With a father like that, no wonder the kid's in suspension.

Wait until he's convicted, then deck him

[Lizzard[MPE]]

i got sidetracked by the daytona 500 tickets

[TransformX]

Fine. But we have laws and rules and investigations, for exactly these reasons. It's a little early to go punching teachers that students don't like. With a father like that, no wonder the kid's in suspension.

Wait until he's convicted, then deck him

Not if your kid came forward and the school doesn't suspend the potential offender. If yor kid comes forward, saying some teacher did this and that, and the school allows that teacher to be in contact with those kids, it's the school administration's fault. A suspect should *NOT* be in the same kind of contact has he was before with those accusing him. I'd punch him -and- the school administration for that.

[Sasq]

Have you ever falsly been accused of rape?

No?

Lucky you.

[Fat Tone]

I'm a School Governor and let me assure you that ANY allegation of that type would be taken EXTREMELY seriously. Either that school body is completely incompetent, leaving itself wide open to prosecution (and we all know how likely that would be to happen) and should be dismissed itself, or the true story is nothing like what is reported.

[TransformX]

Have you ever falsly been accused of rape?

No?

Lucky you.

I'd still understand that if I am accused of improper behaviour against someone, means will be taken in order to cut any (physical?) contact I might have with that person. At least till the allegations are proven or disproved.

[az]

Punching the guy is understandable, but not right. What Wombat said, and think about what Sasq said. A false accusation of rape can ruin a person's life just as much as being raped.

And he certainly isn't "father of the year". Ridiculous sensationalism that only serves to encourage self-administered justice (isn't there a word for that in english?). We have laws and courts and the executive for a reason, and punishing anyone before conviction is certainly not right,, although it is understandable in this case.

[Sasq]

I'd still understand that if I am accused of improper behaviour against someone, means will be taken in order to cut any (physical?) contact I might have with that person. At least till the allegations are proven or disproved.

I am not saying the teacher should not have been removed from contact.

I am saying, I HAVE been falsly accused of rape.
and I AM SAYING I AM VERY AWARE of the stigma that remains attached to you for a very long time after.

*no I did not have sexual relations with the girl in question at all, it was something that was made up later as a revenge thing. - quite possibly for not having sexual relations with her.

[az]

I'd still understand that if I am accused of improper behaviour against someone, means will be taken in order to cut any (physical?) contact I might have with that person. At least till the allegations are proven or disproved.

That, of course. But quietly - people remember much better that "TX is a rapist" than that "after some investigating it has been found that TX was falsely accused of being a rapist". And I would expect to not be lynched by an angry mob without proper investigation and trial.