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A Keaau school teacher was arrested for allegedly assaulting a student.
David Alipio, Keaau Elementary School special education teacher, was arrested Oct. 15 and charged with third-degree assault after allegedly choking an autistic boy and slamming him against a fence.
Ka‘u-Keaau-Pahoa Complex Area Superintendent Chad Keone Farias could not say much about the matter, but confirmed that the alleged incident is being investigated by the state Department of Education and that Alipio is now on department-directed leave.
“We want to know what happened, we want to know the truth,” he said. “We want to protect our children, and we want to protect our teachers.”
Alipio was released on a $1,000 bail.