KAISERSLAUTERN, Germany — No criminal charges have been filed against a Ramstein Middle School teacher accused of assaulting a colleague during a lunch break in April.
Air Force police investigators closed the case in June after interviewing the teacher who made the allegation and three other witnesses, according to a base security forces report obtained by Stars and Stripes.
The incident was referred to Defense Department school officials for additional action, said Airman 1st Class Melissa Maraj, a spokeswoman for U.S. Air Forces in Europe. An investigation by Ramstein American Middle School administrators described the incident as “inappropriate horseplay,” and a letter of reprimand was issued to the accused teacher, who has since been assigned to another school. If charges are filed, they would have to be filed by the German police, since the teacher is a civilian, Maraj said.
A female teacher accused a male colleague of knocking her off her chair and holding her down so a pupil could try to duct- tape her feet on April 8 during the school’s lunch period. The teacher reported the incident to police on May 22, according to the report.
The accused teacher in a written narrative to school administrators said the incident started as a joke, and that the female teacher accidentally fell on the ground as the youngster tried to tape her feet. In the letter, he wrote that he told the pupil to stop soon after they fell to the ground and later apologized to his colleague.
Rumors about the incident — and other accusations — were circulated by a series of anonymous e-mails sent to teachers and parents.
