FLAGLER COUNTY, Fla. — A substitute teacher at Matanzas High School has been arrested after deputies say he kicked a student with disabilities during a behavioral episode.
The Flagler County Sheriff’s Office said Bryan Schewitz, 60, of Flagler Beach, was arrested on a charge of child abuse without great bodily harm following an Oct. 16 incident.
Investigators said two witnesses described Schewitz being rough with the student. One witness told deputies Schewitz forcefully moved the student into a chair and told him, “The gloves are off.”
Another witness reported seeing Schewitz kick the student in the leg. According to deputies, the witness later noticed a large mark on the student’s leg and said Schewitz told him, “He kicked me, and I kicked him. So now we’re square.”
The student also told school officials that Schewitz had kicked him, according to the sheriff’s office.
Schewitz told investigators that the student had kicked him first and that he accidentally kicked the student after sticking out his foot. He also acknowledged guiding the student to a chair but denied intentionally hurting him.
“When adults are trusted to be working with children, especially those who require extra care because of disabilities, they are expected to be the levelheaded ones in any situation and not lose control of their temper,” Sheriff Rick Staly said.
Schewitz was booked into the Sheriff Perry Hall Inmate Detention Facility and later released on $2,500 bond.
As with all criminal cases, Schewitz is presumed innocent unless proven guilty in court.
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