A teacher at a troubled Harlem elementary school was hit with a 30-day jail sentence Thursday for shoving an out-of-control 7-year-old when the boy tried to sneak back into his classroom after being ejected.
Osman Couey, 55, was convicted of harassment and endangering the welfare of a child after a two-day bench trial in Manhattan Criminal Court for the Dec. 23, 2015, altercation.
Although the prosecutor recommended community service and an anger management course, Judge Steven Statsinger said that sentence would be too lenient.
“This was an unjustified use of force,” he said. “Teachers who manhandle students like this need some serious punishment.”
Couey, who was led out of the courtroom in cuffs, called the judge “very fair.”
“I liked the ADA’s recommendation better, but the maximum sentence is 90 days so I have to say it could have been worse,” Couey said.
Couey admitted on the stand Wednesday that he shoved then-7-year-old special education student Ka’veon Wilson from his math class into the legs of school psychologist Steven Castiglia.
The veteran teacher said he tossed Wilson from the class after he showed up late with a tray of cupcakes then refused to sit-down, causing the other students to become “unglued.”
After he locked the classroom door, the boy went berserk, yelling and repeatedly kicking the door, he said. Couey opened the door and, the boy tried to crawl back in and that’s when he pushed him.
Wilson wasn’t injured and the school didn’t report the incident to the child’s parents or police for over a month.
“PS 194 has been a constant member of the most dangerous schools — it is a school where we have a lot of students with real problems that are not addressed,“ Couey had said.
In 2013, a third-grader was sexually assaulted in a school bathroom by three classmates, and in 2012, a first-grader was stabbed in the arm with a pencil.
Assistant District Attorney Chloe Kendall argued in closings that Couey “showed this child that it is ok to touch other people, to push other people.”
Defense lawyer Alexander Lombard told the judge that Wilson has a history of behavioral problems, and Couey had a right use “reasonable force” to keep basic order in his classroom. “Mr. Couey had to make a split-second decision: Is it better for this child to be outside the classroom in a timeout or back in the classroom to wreak havoc?” the attorney asked.
In 25 years, Couey has been investigated for four other incidents — two were substantiated. In 2014, he allegedly used “inappropriate language” in front of a student and a few days later grabbed the shirt of a child who’d taken his pencil.
Couey’s termination as a teacher is being reviewed, according to a Department of Education spokesman.