Judge accepts plea deal for Indiana teacher who slapped teen

A judge on Thursday accepted a plea agreement calling for a suspended sentence for a retired northern Indiana teacher accused of grabbing a 15-year-old student and slapping him across the face.

Former Jimtown High School sociology teacher Michael Hosinski entered a guilty plea to a misdemeanor charge of battery causing moderate injury in Elkhart Superior Court. The agreement calls for a one-year jail term to be suspended and served on probation.

Hosinski, 62, of Osceola, also will undergo anger evaluation and cannot have any contact with the victim.

Judge Teresa Cataldo set sentencing for July 14.

Hosinski, who was charged in March, confronted the student about a hoodie the teen was wearing. Security camera footage showed the two arguing in a hallway, Hosinski slapping the student, and the student’s head hitting a wall. The teen was left with an abrasion to the inside of his mouth and a lump on the back of his head, police said.

The Baugo Community Schools originally fired Hosinski, but the school board approved his retirement shortly afterward. He had originally planned on retiring at the end of the school year.