RSHS teacher sentenced to probation for assaulting pranksters at door | News

The defendant, Dylan M. Aiman, 54, of Rising Sun, pleaded guilty to second-degree assault, a misdemeanor punishable by up to 10 years in prison. In exchange, prosecutors dismissed charges related to inadvertent endangerment and wrongful detention.

Cecil County District Court Administrative Judge Bonnie G. Schneider denied a defense request to grant Aiman ​​probation before judgment, commonly known as PBJ — a verdict in which the presiding judge declares the 'accused guilty, then overturns the conviction, i.e. the sentence. will not appear in that person's file.

A PBJ would have been more favorable for Aiman ​​when the Cecil County Public Schools administration decided on his future employment.

Assistant State's Attorney Joseph Verratti told the judge he would not object to Aiman ​​receiving a PBJ.

Aiman's defense attorney, Thomas C. Morrow of Towson, told the judge that Aiman ​​was on administrative leave, a status school officials assigned to him shortly after a An officer with the Rising Sun Police Department filed criminal charges against him following the incident in early May. .

Joseph Buckley, who is the associate superintendent of administrative services for CCPS, told the Cecil Whig on Thursday: “We are aware of the legal issue facing one of our employees and we will follow all of our human resources processes to access the situation to resolve the problem. We will work with the employee to resolve the issue. Other than that, at this point, we really have no further comment. »

Buckley noted that CCPS officials are not at liberty to release specific information regarding personnel matters.

In court, Schneider said Wednesday that a PBJ verdict would not be appropriate because, according to information provided by the prosecution, Aiman ​​was convicted of violating a peace order in 2012, he about 12 years ago. (Aiman ​​allegedly obtained a PBJ in this 2012 case, which stemmed from a dispute with a neighbor, and he violated the peace order when he entered his neighbor's yard to retrieve the Nerf dart that his son had shot on this property.)

Choosing to accept the plea deal, knowing the judge would not grant him a PBJ, Aiman ​​pleaded guilty to second-degree assault. Then, after Verratti read the statement of facts aloud, Schneider found Aiman ​​guilty of the offense and gave him a six-month suspended sentence. (Verratti had recommended a one-year suspended sentence, one year of supervised probation, an anger management course and no contact with the victims in the proposed plea deal.)

Additionally, the judge ordered Aiman ​​to serve 15 months of supervised probation. Schneider acknowledged that Aiman ​​had already successfully completed an anger management course since the incident. The judge, however, ordered Aiman ​​to take another anger management class if his probation officer deems it necessary.

The judge also ordered Aiman ​​to have no contact with the two victims, one of whom turned 14 about three weeks after the incident.

Moments before sentencing, Aiman ​​stood at the defense table, reflected on the incident and told the judge, “I clearly overreacted.” »

His words echo those spoken moments earlier by Morrow, who reported that Aiman ​​had an unblemished employment record during his 30 years as an educator, the last 24 of which were in County Cecil, and that he was a biology teacher at RSHS, teaching primarily honors. course, in addition to this subject at other levels.

Morrow argued for a resolution to the criminal case that could result in “saving his (Aiman's) career.” »

Aiman ​​pursued the two boys in the early evening of May 4, a Saturday, after they rang the doorbell at his residence in the 200 block of Turtleneck Court and ran away – a prank known as the name “ding dong ditch”.

After catching up with the teens across the street from his home, Aiman ​​forced them back to his home, where he made the boys wait for officers to respond after they called authorities and filed a harassment complaint, according to court records.

RSPD circuit. Cunningham and Patrolman Moore responded to the scene at 7:32 p.m., and Aiman ​​told them he “caught one,” referring to one of the teens. Aiman ​​maintained that he sued him after the second time the ding-dong-ditch prank was pulled at his residence that evening.

In the courtroom Wednesday, the prosecutor reported that Aiman ​​grabbed one of the boys by his sweatshirt, lifted him by the clothing and kneed him in the ribs. Verratti also reported that Aiman ​​handled the situation in an “aggressive manner,” which included him yelling at the boys.

Cunningham informed Aiman ​​that “he could not lay hands on minors and that was considered assault,” according to court records.

“(Aiman) didn't seem to understand, asking what he was supposed to do: let them escape. (Aiman) continually stated that he simply held the children on his porch until the police arrived,” according to court records.

Aiman ​​did not know the boys, who live in his neighborhood, according to the defense.

Investigators filed charges of second-degree assault, reckless endangerment and false imprisonment against Aiman ​​on May 5, a day after the incident, and served him with the criminal summons on May 6, according to court records . He was released on personal recognizance.

Morrow maintained that the incident was an aberration.

He reported that Aiman ​​had been a soccer coach for the RSHS boys and girls teams and a coach for the Cecil County Parks and Recreation Department youth soccer teams, in addition to his 30 years career as a teacher, and that he had not received any official complaint. .

The defense lawyer also told the judge that Aiman ​​and his family had been the target of harassment in the Rising Sun community by strangers for an unspecified period of time, including trespassing, including people throwing eggs at Aiman's house – which required professional cleaning – and cars. and placing “anonymous threats in his mailbox.”

Aiman ​​reported these incidents to police “several times” in the past, but nothing was done, Morrow said. The officers told Aiman ​​it would be difficult for law enforcement to take action unless he was able to identify the culprit(s), he added.

(Speculating about why Aiman ​​was harassed, Morrow told the judge that Aiman ​​is “a good professor” who teaches biology at a high level, which can be difficult and frustrating for students. Aside from the two boys who admitted to playing the May 4 -dong-ditch prank at Aiman's home, however, no one has been identified as the perpetrator of the previous alleged pranks and harassment directed at him and his family. )

Aiman ​​grabbed the teens and held them on his porch until police arrived because he wanted parents and authorities involved, according to Morrow.

“He didn't mean to hurt anyone,” Morrow said, noting that Aiman ​​told one of the boys, “I want you to call your dad right away,” after having escorted the teenagers to his porch.

“His sole intention was to get some sort of parental involvement to stop this pattern of bullying,” Morrow said.

The defense attorney also pointed out that Aiman ​​”faces potential termination and loss of his teaching certificate” after 30 years as an educator.

Aiman's wife spoke on his behalf, telling the judge that her husband's action on May 4 was unusual. She blamed her response on frustration and weariness caused by pranks and various types of harassment over the years. She and Aiman ​​have been married for 24 years.

She said a family's home should be seen as “a safe place”, a place that offers “peace, a respite”, before arguing that prolonged harassment had eroded her family's sense of tranquility and that the ding-dong-ditch prank of May 4 pushed her husband to his limits.

“He broke down. He had had enough,” Aiman’s wife said.

She commented: “He is a wonderful man, a loving father and a wonderful husband. . . He is remorseful and fed up with this incident.

Aiman, who has six children, apologized to the two victims, their families, his own family, the school system and county Parks and Recreation moments before the sentencing.

“I failed them all, including myself,” Aiman ​​said. “I worked with kids to give them a positive experience in the classroom and on the football field.”

He also alluded to the question hanging over his career in education, noting, “Teaching is very important to me.”

The father of the boy Aiman ​​picked up and kneed him in the ribs told the judge he was surprised when he learned Aiman ​​was a teacher.

“He is trained to take care of children, to show a certain leadership. He should be someone to look up to,” the father said. “I am concerned that this man is employed by the school.”

The other boy's mother also addressed the judge. She acknowledged that, although Aiman ​​had not touched her son as aggressively as he had towards her son's friend, the interaction with Aiman ​​had a negative impact on his son. She argued that Aiman ​​shouted in a threatening manner.

According to the woman, her son was afraid to enter a store alone a day after the incident. “I worry about how quickly he got angry,” she said of Aiman.