A teacher at Maywood High School was arrested for punching a student. Patrick Healy reports for the NBC4 News on Monday, Nov. 5, 2018.
A 64-year-old Maywood high school music teacher captured on video fighting with a 14-year-old student in a classroom was charged with a misdemeanor Friday.
Marston Riley of Anaheim was charged with one count of corporal injury to a child after a Nov. 2 video showed him punching a confrontational student.
The fight between Riley and the student set off shock waves on social media, with some in disbelief that an educator would strike a teen student, and others coming out in support of the teacher who they said had been provoked with racial slurs.
Following the outburst at Maywood Academy High School at 6125 Pine Ave., the student suffered moderate injuries and was taken to a hospital where he was treated and released, the sheriff's department said.
A whopping $187,388 of $50,000 goal had been raised on GoFundMe in support of the teacher a month after the attack.
After the fight, he was booked on suspicion of committing cruelty against a child and jailed on $50,000 bail, officials said. He was released shortly thereafter.
Riley was released, according to the sheriff's Inmate Information Center.
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The GoFundMe account was started by Cecilia Diaz, who identified herself as a Maywood resident who works for the school district and formerly worked at Maywood Academy.
"These funds will be spent to lessen any burdens that Mr. Riley may endure during this process," she wrote on the page.
The LAUSD released a statement after the incident: "We are extremely disturbed by the reports of the events that occurred at Maywood Academy High School. We take this matter very seriously and do not condone violence or intolerance of any kind. Los Angeles Unified is cooperating with law enforcement in investigating this incident."
