February 16, 2025 – Tuolumne County Sheriff's Office officials report that at around 9:54 A.M. on Saturday, February 15, 2025, deputies began investigating a report from a parent, about an assault that had taken place during the previous school day at Curtis Creek Elementary School. 

On Saturday afternoon, deputies reviewed video surveillance at the school, which showed a teacher, 60-year-old Phillip Hickey, had thrown an indoor baseball base at a student’s chest in response to being hit by a small squishy toy thrown by the student. The student’s parent requested a citizen’s arrest be made for battery charges. 

Hickey was later arrested and taken to the Dambacher Detention Center, where he was booked on charges of battery on school grounds and misdemeanor child abuse.

Source: Tuolumne County Sheriff's Office