Burlington teacher assault trial: 'Welcome to a 16-year-old girl's nightmare'

The case of a Burlington Technical Center teacher accused of assaulting a student was in the hands of a jury Wednesday evening.

UPDATE:Burlington teacher trial: Judge declares mistrial

David Scibek, of Colchester, pleaded not guilty in February 2018 to the charge of simple assault. The case stems from a Nov. 29, 2017, incident in his class when a 16-year-old female student refused to do push-ups as a punishment for throwing a piece of garbage, possibly a food wrapper.

Prosecutors allege Scibek harmed the girl when he touched her neck. The Burlington Free Press is not naming the student at the recommendation of a victim's advocate.

Prosecutor: Female student 'humiliated'

Joseph Strain, representing the Chittenden County State's Attorney's Office, rose and  turned Wednesday morning to the Vermont Superior Court jury with the opening line of his opening argument.

More:Student allegation of assault by Burlington teacher Scibek to be heard by jury

"Welcome to a 16-year old girl's nightmare," Strain said to the seven women and six men. He said the student was "humiliated and had to withdraw from school because her teacher made the decision to deliberately put his hands on her."

Strain, a law clerk for the Chittenden County State's Attorney's Office and a student at Vermont Law School, presented the prosecution's case under the guidance of Deputy State's Attorney Franklin Paulino.

Strain characterized the interaction between the student and the teacher as a challenge to authority that frustrated the teacher and ended with pain on the part of the student.

Scibek's lawyer Ernest M. Allen, however, told the jurors to listen closely to the testimony they would hear from witnesses.

"They'll tell you what did not happen," Allen said. 

"Ask yourself if it's the same story he tells you," Allen said pointing to Strain. "Look at the evolution of her story."

Allen focused on the unusual nature of the class as a "baby police academy," in which the culture of the class had accepted rules like doing push-ups for infractions like tardiness or throwing things in class. 

The testimony: Teacher demonstrated a pressure point

Both the defense and the prosecution called students who were present in the class last year as witnesses. 

They described an interactive class with research and demonstrations, which most said they enjoyed. The student witnesses for both sides described an atmosphere of "joking" and where "everyone was laughing" including the student who was injured.

According to testimony, Scibek was demonstrating a pressure grip on the back of the girl's neck. He said he never completed the grip. The student says he did and it caused her pain.

Both accounts say the teenager was on the floor following the demonstration, though they disagree with how she got there: by force or by choice.

The student and her mother subsequently visited University of Vermont Medical Center, where she was treated for bruises to her neck and back, according to testimony given by Amy Larow, the emergency medicine physician assistant who saw her.

Closing arguments: Bad decision by Scibek or inconsistent testimony?

In the prosecution's closing argument, Paulino argued a good teacher might have made a bad decision to control a student by physical means.

"Judge the acts, not the person," Paulino said.

Allen, in the defense's closing arguments, again focused on the varying versions of events from the students who testified and from the girl who was injured.

"She said he was digging his fingers into her neck for 5 or 6 seconds and everyone was silent,” Allen said, but he pointed out that none of the student witnesses said they saw that.

Presiding over the case was Judge Martin Maley.

Contact Nicole Higgins DeSmet at ndesmet@freepressmedia.com or 802-660-1845. Follow her on Twitter @NicoleHDeSmet.