The case of a Co Limerick secondary teacher accused of assaulting a 15-year-old student was adjourned at Bruff District Court yesterday. Mr Michael Crimmins (60), of Coolalough, Hospital, a teacher at St John the Baptist Secondary School, Hospital, denies assaulting the student at the school on November 18th, 1998. The student alleges Mr Crimmins punched him with his closed fist in the ribs.
Mr Crimmins, in a statement to the i, Garda, denied he punched or struck the student, but admitted he pushed him to one side and was wearing sheepskin gloves at the time.
The third year student said that about lunchtime on November 18th, 1998 he was in a classroom with other boys when there was a knock at the door, which was closed, but he did not know if it was locked.
He opened the door and it was forced in on top of him. Mr Crimmins came in at speed and pushed him with his closed fist in the ribs.
He said that afterwards he was brought to the school office by another teacher and his brother rang their mother at home, alleging that Mr Crimmins had struck the injured party. The student said he asked the teacher why he hit him and he replied that he was in the wrong place at the wrong time. The teacher apologised.
Cross-examined by Mr Nix for the defendant, the student denied he told Mr Crimmins to "f... off" on several occasions. The student also denied that he asked Mr Crimmins to lie about his age when he was applying for a job.
Mr Nix said: "You were very annoyed about that. I suggest you were going to get your own back on him." The student replied: "That is lies."
A third year student alleged that he saw the teacher push in the door and saw the injured party stumbling back after he was struck by a fist in the stomach.
The student's mother said that when she arrived at the school she found her son in the office crying. She told Mr Crimmins she was disappointed and shocked that a man of his education could do something like this. She said the teacher said he would apologise for that and that he should not have hit her son. He said he heard foul language and was having a bad morning and the boy was in the wrong place at the wrong time.
Dr Michael Cleary, GP in Hospital, said he examined the student, who had tenderness in the muscle below the rib cage on the left side and complained of nausea. He told him to come back on the following Monday, but he did not. Dr Harry Coomber also examined him and found discolouration on the left hand side and the student expressed discomfort when his abdomen was pressed. He prescribed tablets for pain. In cross-examination, Dr Coomber agreed it was possible that the discolouration had nothing to do with the incident.
The case was adjourned until July 1st.