ABC 57 Exclusive: Teacher accused of assaulting student before gym class

ELKHART, Ind. - A gym teacher and coach is accused of assaulting a student at school Thursday morning.

A 7th grader complained that his gym teacher, Scott Asbury, grabbed him around the neck, assaulted him, and threw him against a set of lockers.

"I was very irate, I was seeing red," The student's father, Jeremy Gartner said.

We were asked not to identify his son by name.

"He was physically grabbed by the neck, slammed against the locker basically to tell him he was a good student and he shouldn't be around these people," said Gartner.

His son told him that a few students were messing around and climbing in the rafters when the coach came in he was upset and that's when he allegedly threw the student by the neck against the locker and warned him not to become like them.

 The student told ABC 57 News exclusively that none of the other kids got in trouble.

"He called me hysterically, saying he wasn't part of the kids," said Gartner.

Gartner called Elkhart Police and met officers at the school to talk with administrators about what took place.

"I can tell you we are aware of the incident that took place over at North Side and we are in the middle of investigating," Doug Thorne, Director of Employee and Student Relations, told ABC 57 News over the phone Thursday afternoon.

Throne said he wasn't able to comment on if Asbury will be placed on leave during the investigation, whether any students were disciplined, or if Asbury was allowed to continue to work the rest of the school day.

"I make it a practice not to discuss an ongoing investigation in terms of that level of detail," Thorne said.

Thorne also declined to elaborate on what the terms of the investigation were.

ABC 57 News drove to Asbury's house to see if we could get his side of the story. Asbury came out for a brief moment and only had this to say, "I'm pretty sure you're looking for me, I've been advised not to talk about the situation." 

Several parents told ABC 57 News that they are concerned that Asbury is allowed to teach with his criminal past.

Asbury was arrested and later charged in 2010 for drinking while driving and possession of marijuana.

Administrators declined to comment on the teacher's past saying that it is part of his personnel file.

"I just makes me wonder, what kind of teacher, what are you teaching kids?" Gartner asked.

"We send them to school thinking they will be safe," he added.

His son told ABC 57 that Asbury was his favorite teacher and coach up until today and he is nervous going back to school after what happened.

Stay with ABC 57 News for instant details on this developing story.