BALTIMORE (WJZ) — A Dundalk High School teacher is accused of assaulting two freshman students, authorities said Thursday.
Andrew Lawrence Rader, 30, of Baltimore, was arrested Wednesday on assault charges in connection with the accusations, Baltimore County Police said.
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The 30-year-old was the high school’s art chair. The school said he was hired last August, but was “immediately removed from the school and placed on administrative leave” once the administration learned of the alleged behavior in April.
Rader was taken into custody on a warrant charging him with two counts of second-degree assault. Court records show the 30-year-old was released after posting $3,500 bond.
According to charging documents obtained by WJZ, Rader choked one student at least 10 separate times. The student told police the action started out in a playful manner and turned more aggressive over time.
The mother of that student called police after a video was released that appeared to show the teacher choking the student in April.
“This is very upsetting to me,” Emma Castro, the mother of another freshman student at the school, told WJZ. “It is a tough job and I recognize that, I mean I have four kids, don’t you think I want to put them in a head lock sometimes? Yeah but I don’t do it! You can’t do that to other people’s children.”
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Castro said if the victim were her son: “I would have been at that school in a heartbeat, and I would have put that gentleman in a headlock. That is horrible.”
A second student reported Rader repeatedly pushed on their backs to find “pressure points,” according to the charging documents.
#WATCH: @BaltCoPolice arrested a Dundalk HS teacher, charged w/ assaulting 2 students in the classroom
A Mom telling police in this video the art teacher Andrew Rader is putting her son in a choke hold (her son says it isn’t the first time) @wjz pic.twitter.com/p6hxW1jJZc
— Annie Rose Ramos (@AnnieRoseNews) May 19, 2022
Baltimore County Schools said in a statement that it is fully cooperating with police in their investigation.
“These charges are deeply troubling and are a violation of the core values of our school and school system,” Principal Paul Satterfield said. “This behavior does not reflect the principles of BCPS or our community and it will not be tolerated.”
WJZ reached out to Rader’s attorney but has not received an immediate response.
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Police said detectives continue to investigate the incident and are looking to find out if there are other victims. Anyone with information about this case is asked to call police at 410-887-7720.
