Teacher charged with choking student

ALBUQUERQUE (KRQE) - News 13 has learned that another teacher at Jimmy Carter Middle School is in trouble with law for alleged actions involving a student.

Jimmy Carter Middle School prompted headlines last month when a female teacher was accused of having sex with a 13-year-old boy. The teacher was fired and charged with rape.

Now, basketball coach and physical-education teacher Anthony Torres is charged with chasing down a 13-year-old student in the halls and roughing him up on April 9.

Angry parents said they want to know why a teacher facing criminal charges is still on the job.

"I'm appalled that they are still letting him be around other children," Carter parent Jolene Jones told News 13. "He should not be around our children

"I feel that it's not safe for my son to be around him."

Torres is set to go to trial in January on misdemeanor charges of aggravated battery and cruelty to children.

An Albuquerque Public Schools spokesman said Torres was placed on paid leave that day, but was allowed to come back to school after an internal investigation.

According to the criminal complaint, the student said he was horsing around with Torres and threw a paper cup at him—injuring his eyes. Torres then lost his temper and chased the student down a crowded hall.

The student said he plowed into another girl injuring her neck, and then Torres caught up with him.

Torres grabbed the student violently by the neck, lifted him up and then slammed him into the ground, according to the complaint. The complaint also says another teacher witnessed the incident.

The complaint said the student had fingernail marks on his neck and looked like he had been strangled.

Parents said they should have been notified about the alleged attack, but APS said it didn't think it needed to notify all parents.

On Friday night Torres told News 13 he couldn't discuss the court case.

However he did say he works in tough environment for teachers and believes he is a role model for students there.

This is the first time he's been in trouble in eight years at the school, Torres added.