By Kathianne Boniello
A Long Island man who taught in a Bayside special education school was arrested and charged with assault after he allegedly choked and pushed a student last week, police said.
Police said the man, Thomas Campolettano, 42, of 20 Gardiners Ave. in Hicksville, allegedy grabbed a 10-year-old boy around the neck and began choking him before pushing the victim against a table. The child was taken to Queens Hospital Center in stable condition.
Campolettano was charged with assault and endangering the welfare of a child, police said. Published reports said the gym teacher turned himself in to the 111th Police Precinct in Bayside after the alleged incident.
A spokeswoman for the Queens district attorney’s office said Campolettano was given a desk appearance ticket and told to appear in court March 6.
The incident occurred at PS 224, a special education school with sites in several different public schools. The assault allegedly happened at PS 224’s location in PS 205, a District 26 school at 72-25 Bell Blvd.
The city Board of Education said Campolettano has been a teacher in PS 205 since 1991 and was reassigned to administrative duties pending an investigation into the assault charge. Board of Ed spokesman Kevin Ortiz said it was unclear whether or not Campolettano worked with the special education students regularly.
According to Newsday the victim’s mother, Diliah Ramnarine, said her son has been distraught since the Friday incident and does not want to return to PS 224.
Ramnarine was quoted in Newsday as saying the school staff had been pressuring her son to keep quiet about the assault. She also said her son had complained of mistreatment by the school staff before.
Reach reporter Kathianne Boniello by e-mail at Timesledgr@aol.com or call 229-0300, Ext. 146.
