Raymond School District teacher Robert Swogger, who was arrested for assault in the second degree, a felony, for an incident that took place in a classroom, has a pre-trial court appearance scheduled for Friday, July 1 at 1:30 p.m. in Pacific County Superior Court, according to the Pacific County Prosecutor's Office.
Swogger, 43, who is also the RHS Head Volleyball Coach, has been placed on administrative leave pending the investigation, according to information from the Raymond Police Department (RPD) report on the incident.
The Herald asked Pacific County Criminal Chief Deputy Prosecutor Daniel Crawford a few questions, including: Do you expect there to be a plea bargain in the case? Will your office ask for the stiffest sentence? Since many people know Mr. Swogger, do you think there's a good chance the case will be moved to another area?
Crawford's only response was, "The case is still on the newer side and will need to be evaluated after we have received the entire investigation to determine the most just path forward."
According to the RPD, the case stems from a report from Raymond School District on May 10, 2022, alleging that on May 9, 2022, during class, suspect allegedly assaulted a 13-year-old student by pushing a desk into him, then placing him in what was described as a headlock/chokehold. There were other student witnesses.
According to some of the narrative from the Raymond Police report, RPD Officer M. Swartz and Pacific County Sheriff's Deputy K. Acdal were contacted by Raymond Principal Jessica Bayless, who said she was made aware by a student that at approximately 2:00 p.m. (May 9) the alleged victim had been in class when he had gotten up to get a charger from another student when the teacher, Robert Joseph Swogger followed him to the back of the classroom and had pushed a desk into the alleged victim, before putting him in a headlock and stating something along the lines of "are you going to do your work now?" Bayless informed Swartz that it had been reported that the alleged victim had been refusing to do his school work before the incident.
According to the police report, Swartz and Acdal contacted the alleged victim and his parents. While speaking to the student, he told Swartz and Acdal that he had just gotten up to go get a charger from his friend because his computer was dying, and his teacher asked him to sit down and he told him that that was fine before standing up and chasing him to the back of the classroom, where Swogger pushed a desk in front of him, blocking him in and then Swogger put him in a headlock, with Swogger's forearm pressing across his throat, which made it to where he was having difficulty breathing in addition to beginning to feel lightheaded. The student stated that this is the second time it has happened and that the last time was a few months prior. The student stated that he believed Swogger had him in a headlock for 40 seconds to a minute. The student stated that the pressure was "pretty hard."
The alleged victim stated that he has not had other issues with this teacher but had heard of similar issues happening with other students. He stated that he couldn't really talk when Swogger had him in a headlock but that Swogger had stated, "Are you going to do your work now?" He stated that he did not believe that Swogger was playing around as he couldn't breathe. He also stated he had to push Swogger off and had punched him in the left knee approximately two times. Swartz said, "I did not observe any bruising, swelling, or redness in (the student's neck) and informed them that I would recommend a no contact order as an extra layer of protection."
South Bend Police Officer Jordan Dockter and Swartz then went and spoke with one of the witnesses, and her mother. The witness said that she had been in class and the alleged victim had not been doing his work and that Mr. Swogger was mad about it and always "play fights" with the students. The student said that Swogger chased him around the classroom and they were all laughing, and that Swogger had caught him and had put him in a headlock and that the student had "taken it too far" by slamming Swogger into the corner of a cabinet and punched his knee two or three times.
The RPD also interviewed other student witnesses about the incident.
After Swogger was booked into Pacific County Jail, his bail was set at $20,000. Swogger made bail and he was arraigned May 27. The maximum penalty for the Class B felony is 10 years in prison and a $20,000 fine.