LANCASTER : Student Sentenced to Camp in Poisoning of Teacher

The Littlerock High School student charged with trying to poison a teacher by pouring cleaning solution in her soft-drink can pleaded no contest Monday in Lancaster Superior Court to one count of assault with a deadly weapon.

The 15-year-old student, whose name was withheld because of his age, was sentenced to three to five months in a county youth camp. He will then be returned to his parents and remain on probation at least until he turns 18.

Superior Court referee Eugene E. Siegel also ordered the teen-ager to make restitution to the teacher, who was twice hospitalized after the incident, for her medical expenses and write her a letter of apology. The youth must also avoid all contact with the teacher, maintain at least a C average, maintain good attendance in school and obey all laws.

Siegel handed down the sentence after a brief hearing in which the nature of the offense was debated. A prosecutor called the poisoning “a very heinous act” whose “consequences are continuing to this day.” The defense attorney described it as “a practical joke that went sour.”

Siegel pointed out that the youth has the support of his family and no police record. “I’m not willing to brand him as a person who can never be rehabilitated,” Siegel said. But he also told the youth: “If you commit any act that hurts someone, you have to pay for it,” and warned the teen-ager that he will “go away for a long time” if he gets into trouble again.

The victim, English teacher Susan Ennis, 32, sat on the far side of the small courtroom. She asked Deputy Dist. Atty. David A. Jacobs to read a brief statement in which she referred to the poisoning as “a senseless act of violence.”