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MAPLETON — A junior high school teacher has been issued a citation for child abuse for an alleged incident with a student in the classroom.
Adam Chappell, 28, of Springville, was issued a citation for the class B misdemeanor, Mapleton police announced Friday.
Chappell is a ninth-grade English teacher at Mapleton Junior High School. On Wednesday, he asked a student to see him after class, said Mapleton Police Chief John Jackson. The student refused and continued walking toward the door when the class was dismissed, he said.
Chappell allegedly got in front of the student, held up his hand to stop him, and scratched the student's chest in the process, according to the chief. The altercation, he said, was very quick.
Parents notified police, who then contacted school administrators. Chappell was immediately placed on a leave of absence pending the outcome of the investigation, according to a spokeswoman for the Nebo School District.
Based on the statute, which defines class B misdemeanor child abuse as "recklessly" causing an injury, Jackson said the citation was issued.
Jackson said the family issued a statement through the police department saying "they have forgiven the teacher and wishes him well as he moves forward."
Chappell has been at the junior high for four years, three of them as a full-time teacher.
