A former Bamberg high school teacher and wrestling coach faces charges after being accused of assaulting a student he coached.
Bamberg Police arrested Jacob Stewart and charged him on Friday with third degree assault and battery. This stems from an incident that happened before students left for Christmas break.
A warrant issued by the Bamberg Magistrate states that on December 19, 2018 Jacob Lee Stewart Jr committed battery on a juvenile, shoving him against a wall at Bamberg-Ehrhardt High School. It also states he slapped the teen in the head and punched him in the chest. All of it was captured on school video. That warrant was signed by Judge Richard Threatt on January 14.
In a Bamberg Police Department incident report, police state the school principal, after discussing the incident with the superintendent, made police aware on January 11 of what happened back in December. The report states the police viewed the video of the alleged assault between Stewart and a 15-year-old male. The incident took place in the locker room of the high school on Deceber 19, 2018 around 5:40 p.m., according to the police report. Police stated it lasted for about 45 seconds and details that the incident kicked off with a pair of headphones. Though redacted, the report states that the victim was slammed against a brick wall and slapped. After that, the words, “Put them up” were stated regarding the headphones just before they broke. The question was asked, “Did I break them” to which the response was “No.” That same question was repeated before asking, “Give me them, how much were these.” The response was, “I don’t know they were my cousins.” The incident reports that the reply was “I’ll find out” and both people left.
Stewart resigned from the school two weeks ago.
Police tell us Stewart bonded out of jail on Friday on his own recognizance. We spoke with the magistrate’s office and Stewart goes to municipal court Monday, February 4 at 9:00 a.m.
