SEBASTIAN — A former Sebastian River High School teacher won’t face molestation charges after a Circuit Court judge accepted a settlement deal late Wednesday.

The Indian River County Sheriff’s Office in May charged Aaron Scott Fusselman, 26, of the 7900 block of 100th Avenue, Vero Lake Estates, with a lewd and lascivious act on a person between 12 and 16 years old. The charge followed the accusations of a 15-year-old female student, authorities said.But attorneys negotiated a deal where Fusselman pleaded to a misdemeanor simple battery charge, said Stuart attorney Robert Watson, who represented Fusselman. The former government instructor and boys’ lacrosse coach also surrendered his teaching license in the agreement, Watson said.

“He may have said things that were inappropriate to the complainant, but he denies he did anything with any sexual intention,” Watson said. “He was a popular teacher, and a lot of people were sorry to see his career end.”

Fusselman will be on probation for one year for the battery charge, court officials said.

Fusselman was removed from the school in April when the complaint was made and the Sheriff’s Office investigation began. The student who made the complaint against Fusselman told detectives the abuse had been going on for several months. She claimed she was groped by the teacher, and other students told detectives they witnessed the acts, according to the Sheriff’s Office.

Fusselman taught at SRHS for two years and was paid $41,943 annually, the Indian River County School District said.

Assistant State Attorney Jason Bruin, who handled the case for the state, could not be reached for comment Thursday.

By Lamaur Stancil, TCPalm.com

Tags: Aaron Scott Fusselman, author, battery, boy, court, ER, molestation, plea, Sebastian River High School, sheriff, students, teach, teacher

This entry was posted on Friday, January 9th, 2009 at 10:11 am and is filed under Courts, Crime, Sebastian, State. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.