A judge has given the OK for a former teacher to face a charge of battery causing modest injury after slapping a student across the face last month.

According to the Baugo Community School District, the incident happened on February 25 of this year. Jimtown High School Teacher Michael Hosinksi, 61, can be seen on a school hallway camera slapping a student who had his back against the wall. After striking the student, the child’s head can be seen ricocheting off the wall. Hosinski proceeds to walk with the student down the hallway but stops after the child falls to the floor and other teachers begin to appear in the hallway.

Last Friday, a judge found that there was probable cause to move forward with a charge against Hosinski of battery causing modest injury after he struck the child.

According to police reports, the child told officers that Hoskinski had asked him to leave the classroom. Video footage shows the student walking down a hallway and Hosinski following after him. When Hosinksi caught up with the child, that’s when the altercation turned physical.

The child shared with officers that after the teacher struck him, he had a “throbbing” pain in his head. Officers who arrived at the scene also observed the child had a bloody nose and lip along with a lump and abrasion on his head. The child was immediately treated by the school’s medical staff.

Hours after the incident, Hosinski resigned from his role and requested that the school board grant him early retirement. On Monday, the Baugo Community School Board moved to approve Hosinski’s retirement. Hosinski had originally planned to retire at the end of the school year. As a result of his early retirement, Hosinski is set to receive his full retirement benefits, including his pension.

After news of Hosinksi's early retirement surfaced, many have criticized the school board's decision to approve the request while other members of the community backed the teacher. After leaving his position, Hosinksi was met with a supportive community made up of former students and their parents. Many of those supporters shifted the blame to the school's administration, citing the incident as a direct result of the school administration’s declining disciplinary measures. One student shared with a local news outlet WNDU, “In my four years of being here, I have watched the discipline decline. Each year students become more rebellious and treat our high school staff poorly.”

A friend and former co-worker of Hosinski, Terry Hilyard, also shared, “He’s had 40 years of good service and for this one incident to tarnish his reputation ...he feels really bad after the time... that’s what I am sad about. The guy is a good guy.”

Another parent shifted blame onto the student explaining, “The kid has reportedly been expelled from Concord, from Elkhart Schools and from Jimtown Schools for the first semester. He came back in January and has been sent to the office 30 times, reportedly.”

A statement issued by the school board explains that the former teacher “confronted a student about the student’s attire, specifically a hoodie sweatshirt the student wore to class.” After a verbal altercation in the hallway, Hosinski “inexplicably” struck the student “with an open-handed slap [which] caused the student’s head to strike the wall.” As a result of the incident, the Indiana Department of Child Services was also alerted and was part of the investigation proceedings.

Following a police investigation, Hosinski was arrested last Thursday but was later released on a $1,500 bond. The felony charge Hosinski faces carries with it a sentence of up to 2 1/2 years behind bars. Court records show that Hosinski is due back in court on March 10 for an initial hearing.