New video clears NJ school principal charged with assault, attorney claims

🔴 NJ principal charged with assaulting student

🔴 Attorney tells NY Times video shows he was protecting other students

🔴 Community is divided over who is at fault

MAPLEWOOD — A New Jersey school principal faces years in prison if convicted of assaulting a Black female student but his defense attorney claims the evidence is stacked in his favor.

Frank Sanchez has been on paid administrative leave from his position as principal of Columbia High School in the South Orange-Maplewood School District since January. He was arrested on March 7 and charged with second-degree child endangerment and simple assault.

The 50-year-old principal is accused of slamming a student against a wall in March 2023. Sanchez "physically assaulted" the 15-year-old female student, according to her attorneys with Davis Advocacy Consulting, LLC.

However, Sanchez's union lawyer Robert Schwartz tells the New York Times that video from cameras in the school hallways showed that his client was trying to stop a student who had already threatened her peers.

RELATED: Students show support for NJ principal charged with assault

What does video show?

Video of the encounter showed the entire encounter lasted less than 60 seconds, according to the New York Times and NJ.com.

According to an investigative report reviewed by the New York Times, the girl was heading to the cafeteria around 1:30 p.m. on March 9, 2023. In the cafeteria, there were reportedly students before eating lunch whom she had threatened in the days before.

Sanchez was seen on video walking toward the student. They made physical contact near a set of double doors leading to a stairway, according to reports. Sanchez grabbed the girl's arm and she tried to push past him during a brief struggle, NJ.com reported.

Around 20 seconds of the incident reportedly remain unclear because of how cameras were positioned in the hallways. Only feet were visible in the footage, so what happened during that time is uncertain.

Breaking up a fight or assault?

The student reportedly said in a complaint that Sanchez falsely accused her of going to fight other students and that she was only going to the bathroom.

Meantime, Sanchez's lawyer said to the New York Times that it's common for students involved in fights to redirect the blame to school officials. The video "doesn't support the charges," said Schwartz to the NYT.

At least 739 donors appear to agree that Sanchez is falsely accused; a fundraiser to pay for his legal defense through Go Get Funding has raised over $69,300 as of Wednesday afternoon.

Attorney James Davis, who is representing the student, is also chairman of the SOMA Black Parents Workshop.

The group posted on Facebook that it was "not deterred by lawn signs or a glaringly racist ‘defense fund’ for a criminally charged school administrator."

Sanchez has pleaded not guilty. His next court date is June 14.

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