Aman Ali of the Journal News is reporting that Daniel Sanabria, the substitute gym teacher who was arrested on charges related to an incident at Webster Elementary School, told police the child had it coming.
Daniel Sanabria, 58, went on to say he does not hit children but that the victim “deserved to be beat,” and if the victim was his child “it would be a different story,” according to the police statement filed in court. Sanabria also said in the statement he was interested in pressing charges against the child.
The Webster Gym Teacher “chokehold” case was first reported here on Talk of the Sound in the New Rochelle Community Pulse blog: Webster Teacher Facing Criminal Charges over 5th Grader “Chokehold”: Assault, Harrasment, Child Endangement.
I saw this happen to an innocent person
I don’t have a child at Webster and I don’t know Mr. Sanabria. What I do know is that you have monstrous people who hurt children and children and parents that lie. I know a wonderful women who after several years of a wonderful teaching career was accused by a vindictive parent who coerced her child to say that the teacher had pushed a chair causing the child to fall and bump her head. My friend was fortunate enough to have had an assistant in the classroom who testified that the teacher was no where near the child when she bumped her head. The other children were questioned and said the teacher was helping other children when the alleged incident occurred. This wonderful loving women endured 2 years of hell clearing her name. Thank God over 50 parents wrote letters on her behalf testifying that the parent had often made hateful remarks about the teacher. Everyone wrote how their children had flourished tremendously while they were under my friends care. After the investigation she was found innocent of the charges. She was so afraid of what one evil mouth could do that she gave up teaching for a few years. She says she misses the children but will never go back to teach in a public school classroom, what a loss to our school system. Good things happen to good people, my friend furthered her education, received her PHD and is now a college professor. As for that hateful poor excuse of a parent, I pray she has changed her evil ways at least for her child’s sake.
Please be human
In complete support of Dan Sanabria
What a horrible photo. How misleading the story and coverage. Let’s be human here. How do those condemning sleep at night? Do you know this amazing man? He wouldn’t hurt a fly, much less a child. I’ve known this unbelievably giving father for 14 years.
Dan Sanabria has been – and still is a guardian angel to my three children. He has been on every single one of my children’s emergency forms for every single one of our schools, for years now. I cannot imagine ANYONE I would trust more with my boys. I’m sure he is on many emergency forms. Ask around.
Dan Sanabria is an adoring father. His children come before all else. Let me say that again – before all else. Shame on anyone who is not questioning the facts here. I am shocked with this alleged report, and I can only imagine- that this may very well have been the one child whom a forgiving heart like Dan’s could not connect with. With this one moment of misunderstanding and one moment of disconnect, no one should run to condemn. Shame on all of us who allow the media to color the truth. This forgiving man deserves us to question. We need to be human again.
Kristin Gantz
New Rochelle
The truth about Sanabria
The truth about Mr, Sanabria will come out through the due process afforded him by the law . It doesn’t matter who knows him to be a hothead or know him as a saint . None of that is relative to what he was charged with . I believe there wouldn’t be these charges if there was no merit at all , that’s not how the police work . Time will tell the story and if he is cleared , those responsible will apologize . If guilty , he should accept what comes from that . The children need protection whether they themselves have issues or not . Education in a SAFE environment is a fundamental . Mistakes happen in every aspect of our lives and it is in how they are handled that describes who we are as a society. I’m glad I didn’t have to hear of this AFTER it was swept under the rug .
This school’s principal deserves credit.
I don’t have a child in this school, but I did see the letter sent home that same day to parents. As a resident and taxpayer, all we ask is that situations that come up be handled in a swift and professional manner (and not ‘swept under the rug’). Proper handling by quickly and honestly informing parents, kept a bad situation from becoming worse. Parents need to feel confident in the abilities of the people in charge of their children.
Now, making sure everything that can possibly be done to PREVENT these types of incidents should be the goal.
You are correct !
That school has an amazing leadership staff and by no means should the events reflect on anything the staff did or did not do properly . You can bet this is a situation that won’t be repeated. I know many families who are in or passed through the school , and you would be hard pressed to find a better run school in the system.
Mug shots are rarely flattering
Mug shots are meant to show what someone really looks like. When the police put out an APB on Mr Sanabria , we’ll all know what to look for.
Excellent letter kristin
Now the public is seeing what kind of person Bob Cox is. The best thing to do is not read this site everyone. We will prevail by not giving him 1 minute of our time. Go to hell cox
deserve to be beat or not,
deserve to be beat or not, police or news reporter reporting leaving something to be desired or not, the plain fact of the matter is that the substitute, any teacher cannot or should not apply restraint to someone of that age who certainly should not pose any threat to the sub. he cannot work the system, period and he apparently got through any and all screening that the district provides. so organisciak’s nonsense about the sub not being an employee nothwithstanding, the guy has to leave the system and let the police do their job. the sub should have simply replied differently; saying that if it was his kid, etc.. wasn’t very smart; it makes people read between the lines.
look no one was hurt. the sub should back away, the police should finish what they started, the kid should go back and the school should note the situation and see if the kid needs any support, counseling or whatever to make his transit through the next 8 or 9 years more comfortable for him and for the district. let’s leave it at that.
warren gross
I support the teacher
I’m not sure if the Journal news could write a more intentionally misleading story. Saying a child “deserved to be beat” is very different than actually beating a child, which the teacher said he would not do. I have been in New Rochelle schools and watched children and thought to myself If that was my kid he’d get a beating. but they are allowed to have outbursts, disrupt and create havoc with impunity. All the teacher did was restrain an unruly, possibly violent child.
Support the teacher all you want
So now he’s a “teacher” ? Organisciak says he’s not even an employee. There IS more to this than you want to admit because I can tell you, the police are very careful to press charges in this type of case because of the ramifications of making an arrest. Here’s a guy with a known anger management issue, put in charge of kids at their most active part of the day, and one kid acts up. Hardly a crisis situation needing physical response. This man was out of control, not in a maniacal way, but in the sense of letting a situation expand beyond his ability to cope. Was HE trying to teach the kid a lesson? That’s not his job. Was anyone in danger ? Mr Sanabria made the conscious choice to aggressively engage a 10 year old. Unless the kid wa versed in Tae Kwan Do what kind of threat existed. Mr S could have ignored him, walked away, called for assistance, held the kid by the scruff of the neck at arms distance. He chose none of these options. Most every school has people trained in restraining a child for the simple reason that done improperly, injuries result. Is Mr S trained in restraint? No. Unfortunately Mr S showed his true nature and he will have to pay the price for his behavior. “Suck it up”
Problem Children are the problem
Of course you get the occasional teacher that over reacts, however the Everyday situation is out of control, disruptive abusive kids with foul mouths and a parent or parents that are even lower class. When public school administrators finally grow some and start handling these “students” as they should….detention and expulsion, maybe the other 95% of kids won’t continue to be short changed in there education because of the problem children. All the Teachers, all the administrators and all the students know who the real problem kids are…and this was one of them. The kid has no business being in general population, a term he will come to know in the future I’m sure.