Man Hits Teacher’s Aide After Daughter’s Claims
A father punched a teacher’s aide in the face in front of a class after his teenage daughter said the man inappropriately touched her.
“I’m not real proud of what I did,” Dave F. Swafford, 42, said Wednesday. “You have to protect your children, and my daughter does not lie to me.”
Swafford was charged with felony battery on a school employee after he hit the 35-year-old aide Tuesday at Lakewood Ranch High in Bradenton, Fla., authorities said.
A Tampa radio station named him “Father of the Year,” offering Swafford and his family Daytona 500 race tickets.
The school placed the aide on paid leave Tuesday because of the allegation, Manatee County School District spokeswoman Margi Nanney said. The sheriff’s office was investigating.
Swafford said he came to school to meet with officials about his 15-year-old daughter’s allegations. When he saw that the aide was not at the meeting, Swafford asked his daughter to take him to the man.
They argued and “I lost control,” Swafford said. Swafford spent about 10 hours in jail before he was released on bail.
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