A New York City special education teacher has been arrested and charged with allegedly strangling a five-year-old student, police said.
Anthony Wicks, 46, a teacher at PS 153 Adam Clayton Powell Jr. Elementary School in Hamilton Heights, allegedly grabbed the boy by the neck with both hands around 1:30 p.m. Monday, according to prosecutors.
He was charged with second-degree assault and acting in a manner injurious to a minor. Wicks was ordered by the judge to have no contact with the minor and was placed on supervised release following his arraignment Tuesday.
Asked if he understood the judge’s orders, Wicks replied: “Yes, of course.” CBS News reported.
Wicks, who has worked for the New York City Department of Education for five years, was seen leaving Manhattan Criminal Court on Tuesday with her husband.
Anthony Wicks, 46 (right), a teacher at PS 153 Adam Clayton Powell Jr. Elementary School in Hamilton Heights, was arrested after allegedly strangling a five-year-old student.
The alleged incident occurred inside a classroom after the five-year-old boy refused to go to the “time-out corner” after being ordered to do so by the school principal, according to the student’s older brother (pictured: PS 153 Adam Clayton Powell Jr. Elementary School)
The alleged incident occurred inside a classroom when the five-year-old boy refused to go to the “time-out corner” after being ordered to do so by the school principal, the boy’s older brother told CBS News.
According to parents, Wicks is a teaching assistant at the school.
“He was making a fuss about going to the punishment corner… and then the teacher strangled him,” the brother said.
‘That teacher wasn’t even the one talking to him… What other people have told me is that when they were choking him, he would cry and then he wouldn’t calm down.’
The boy’s father was told to go to school after the principal informed him of the incident and told him the boy was fine.
“It was a scary moment for him. He said that… his teacher’s hands were tight around his neck and that he said he would behave and that he asked his teacher to let him go,” the parent, who asked to remain anonymous, told the outlet.
Wicks (right) is seen leaving court Tuesday with her husband after her arraignment in Manhattan Criminal Court.
Meanwhile, a father of a five-year-old boy said he knew nothing of what happened.
“I had to find out through social media,” the anonymous mother said.
“That teacher is my son’s teacher, my five-year-old son, and it’s very sad because the school hasn’t revealed anything to me… I went to talk there and they couldn’t give me any information. I want to withdraw it today.”
DailyMail.com has contacted Wicks for comment.
A Department for Education spokesperson said: ‘This alleged behaviour is completely unacceptable and this employee has been immediately removed from this site.
‘Pending the outcome of the arrest and if they are convicted, we will request their dismissal. There is nothing more important than the safety and well-being of our students.’
Wicks (middle) appears on the school’s website, smiling alongside a group of teachers and administrators.
The judge ordered him to have no contact with the boy and he was placed on supervised release after his arraignment.
According to Wicks’ Facebook profile, he is from Toledo, Ohio and currently lives in Manhattan.
She majored in English and Creative Writing/Theater at Siena Heights University and then earned her master’s degree in early childhood special education from CUNY Hunter College.
Before working for the city’s education department, Wicks was a preschool teacher for three years, CBS News reported.
He appears on the school’s website, smiling alongside a group of teachers and administrators.
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