Mills pleads not guilty in student assault case

ROCHESTER - Former Milton Elementary School principal Chuck Mills has pleaded not guilty to a simple assault charge against a student whom he allegedly “dope slapped” in May.

A letter from his attorney, Stephen Cherry of Henniker, apprised the court of his not guilty plea, setting up a bench trial scheduled for next month in Rochester District Court.

Mills, last year’s interim principal at MES, “dope slapped” a boy in the cafeteria after the student failed to quiet down after a signal given by Mills, according to the arrest affidavit. It was alleged that a student’s head hit the wall after Mills slapped it.

Mills, 53, of Henniker, and named as Charles in the affidavit, is charged with simple assault, a Class B misdemeanor.

According to the affidavit, he admitted to “dope slapping” the child, but didn’t mean to hurt him.

The former principal had formerly been lauded for his outreach to the community and his anti-bullying efforts at the school this past year.

Mills, the affidavit states, had made the “silent star” signal prior to the incident, a sign that asks all students to be quiet, but the student who was hit had his back to Mills and didn’t see the signal.

A paraprofessional witnessed the incident as well as at least one other student who said they could hear the impact of Mills’ hand on the student’s skull.

A dope slap is defined in urbandictionary.com as “a light 'whappp' to the back of the head, done with an open palm in an upward motion.”

Mills abruptly resigned last month while in the midst of pursuing the permanent principal position at the school.

A Class B misdemeanor can result in fines and possible probation, but no jail time.