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Utah teacher charged with felony child abuse for altercation with teen in P.E. class

Posted at 11:07 AM, May 29, 2019
and last updated 2019-05-29 13:07:22-04

UTAH COUNTY — A Utah P.E. teacher who was fired for an altercation with a student that was caught on camera has been formally charged with felony child abuse.

Anthony Robbie Chidester, 41 of Cedar Hills, is charged with child abuse as a second-degree felony.

The incident occurred April 18 at Rockwell Charter High School in Eagle Mountain.

Charging documents state video evidence showed him slamming a student into a wall and then throwing him to the floor before using his knee to hold the boy down while continuing to “violently push” the boy into the floor and wall.

The document states the abuse began when the boy did not put away a basketball when asked to do so.

“The situation escalated and became physical,” the charging document states.

Other students eventually separated the pair.

The boy suffered bruises and redness on his chest and back as a result.

Chidester was fired after the incident and issued an apology, which the victim’s mother criticized for portraying her son as a bully.