Parents say karate instructor assaulted 7-year-old student

Parents of a student in Lancaster are outraged and calling on police to investigate after they say their son’s karate instructor assaulted him and left him with bruises.

Channel 9 Reporter Tina Terry spoke with the parents and that karate instructor on Monday, but this isn’t the first time the instructor has been accused.

Back in 2020, Channel 9 reported when the instructor, James White, was charged with assault and battery. That case also involved young people.

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On Monday, White told Terry that all of these allegations against him are false.

The parents of one 7-year-old student told Terry that they enrolled their sons in a summer program at Universal Karate in downtown Lancaster, and things went downhill after just a few days.

“My youngest son is visibly upset when I pick him up from karate,” one parent said. “He said that his instructor had grabbed him, and I’m like, ‘What do you mean?’ He pulled his shirt down and I didn’t really get a good look at it, but I could see a bruise.”

He later took pictures of his son’s bruises and went to the Lancaster Police Department to file a report.

A spokesperson with LPD told Terry they’re investigating the claims. No charges have been filed in this case as of Monday.

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White currently has charges pending for that 2020 incident, according to the solicitor’s office. Court documents say that several students filed complaints, with one of them saying that White brushed his hand against her chest and made a sexual comment.

When Terry went to the studio to talk to White, he said all of the allegations against him from 2020 until now are false.

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