SEMINOLE COUNTY, Fla. — A Lyman High School teacher accused of putting a student in a headlock is no longer facing charges.
The state attorney told Channel 9's Julie Salomone that the teacher was simply disciplining the teen and that there was insufficient evidence to warrant charges.
Video of the incident showed the 15-year-old boy running down the hall of the high school in Seminole County when the teacher, Wilbert Delacruz, told the student to stop. The student swore at the teacher, investigators said.
Documents state Delacruz grabbed the student and placed him in a headlock. When Delacruz pulled the child down the stairs and told him he's going to the principal's office, the teen again cursed at the teacher, investigators said.
Eyewitness News reported in January that Longwood police arrested Delacruz for child abuse.
Wilbert Delacruz has worked at the high school for 10 years.
The state attorney's office found the teacher was using corporal punishment as a form of discipline or to restrain a disruptive child.
The teen was not severely hurt.
A spokesperson for the school district told Eyewitness News that it’s conducting its own investigation. At the time of the incident, he was on paid administrative leave.
Watch surveillance video of the teacher put the student in a headlock below:
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