No jail time for former Indiana teacher shown on video striking student
ELKHART — Michael Hosinski, the former Jimtown High School teacher seen on camera striking a student, was sentenced to one year of probation Thursday afternoon.
Elkhart County Superior Court Judge Teresa Cataldo accepted a plea agreement for the case in early June. The agreement stipulates Hosinski, 62, receive a suspended one-year jail sentence and instead be placed on probation.
In addition, according to the deal, Hosinski will "attend an anger evaluation and any follow-up" and he will be ordered to have no contact with the victim — a 15-year-old Jimtown student — and agree to pay any restitution that arises in the case.
As part of his probation, Hosinski must seek permission from a probation officer to leave Elkhart County, the location of Jimtown High School, or St. Joseph County, Hosinski's county of residence.
Plea agreement:Jimtown High School teacher seen on camera hitting a student will get probation
Neither Hosinski nor any witnesses or family members spoke at the sentencing. Hosinski's attorney, Kayla Christofeno, cited Hosinski's "deep remorse" and lack of criminal history in the argument for probation, saying that striking the student was "very out of character" for the longtime teacher.
Prosecutors said the incident was "very troubling" and not acceptable of a teacher in any circumstance, also noting that if the student had been slightly younger, the charge would have been a felony.
In her sentencing Thursday, Cataldo described the video of Hosinski striking the student — which she saw before being getting the case — as "horrific" but also said she has noticed that Hosinski has taken the incident seriously.
Teacher retires after slapping student in hallway
The misdemeanor battery charge against Hosinski stemmed from a Feb. 25 incident at Jimtown High School where video footage captured the longtime social studies teacher following a male student down a school hallway, grabbing his backpack and striking him in the face.
The incident was reportedly prompted by the student wearing a hooded sweatshirt in class.
Shortly after, Baugo Community Schools officials announced Hosinski was “no longer employed” by the district and banned from school grounds — igniting heated debate within the community.
At a meeting the week after, the school board voted unanimously to grant Hosinski an expedited early retirement rather than termination. Under the approved retirement, he will be allowed to collect his pension.
At the same meeting, a man who identified himself as the student's father, accosted school board members with a profanity-laced rant before the vote. After the parent was escorted out of the meeting, he told a Tribune reporter his attorney would have more to say about the incident.
Indiana teacher slaps student: What we know about Jimtown High School, Mike Hosinski incident
The Indiana Department of Education's database lists Hosinski's teacher license as active as of Thursday afternoon and he is certified to teach sociology, U.S. history and world civilization through June 7, 2023.
Email Alysa Guffey at aguffey1@gannett.com. Follow her on Twitter @AlysaGuffeyNews.
This article originally appeared on South Bend Tribune: Former Jimtown teacher Michael Hosinski gets probation
