‘He has to be accountable’: Indiana school district refused to arrest teen student who assaulted 74-year-old teacher

An elderly Indiana teacher was viciously beaten by a teenage student, but the victim says officials have done little to discipline the teen.

Robert Gooding, a 74-year-old substitute teacher, was at Perry Meridian High School on Feb. 1 when a large, male student assaulted him. 

“This man child was 6-feet-2, 280 pounds,” Gooding recalled. “He hovered over me and with his left hand whammed me.” 

The student knocked Gooding down and punched him repeatedly, leaving him with a gruesome black eye and other head injuries. 

Gooding later told the school resource officer he wanted to press criminal charges, but school administration wouldn’t allow it.  

“He [the officer] said to me, ‘We have been instructed by the higher-ups, which is the district, not to handcuff, or arrest the kid,’ and I said, ‘What?’ and he said, ‘Yes, that came from the higher-ups.’” 

Instead, the student was sent home with his parents. 

The district released a statement Wednesday claiming “safety is our top priority.” 

“Due to confidentiality reasons, Perry Township Schools cannot comment on disciplinary action it takes against its students,” the statement continued. “A police report was forwarded to the Marion County Prosecutor’s Office. Prosecutors will then make a decision on whether to file criminal charges.” 

One source reported the student was expelled, but the district refused to confirm that information. 

“He has to be accountable for his actions,” Gooding insisted. “That’s what I feel.”  

Student violence, including student-on-teacher violence, has increased nationwide in recent years.  

Teachers in Nashville report being assaulted by students on a daily basis. Such incidents have resulted in severe injuries, such as broken collarbones and concussions. 

North Carolina recently reported an 18% increase in student violence, and Denver students even staged a protest against their district’s lax policies after a series of incidents. 

The situation was so dire in one Massachusetts high school that administrators asked the governor to deploy the National Guard.