A principal of two GTA schools pleaded guilty to assault in court Monday morning in a strange case that involved two children.
Maria Pantalone, 50, admitted to throwing human feces at one of the children Monday morning. A charge related to the other child was dropped.
Pantalone is the sister of Deputy Mayor Joe Pantalone and is principal of both the Keele Street Public and Mountainview Alternative schools, which operate out of the same building at Bloor and Keele Streets.
Very few details have been released about the circumstances leading up to Pantalone's arrest on June 30, 2006. It has been reported that the charges stem from an incident that month which took place in Toronto's west-end.
Pantalone assaulted the boy, who was 11 at the time, in an attempt to discipline him.
Neither of the boys are students at either school in which Pantalone is employed. Their identities are protected under a court-ordered publication ban.
Pantalone has been suspended from her job with pay.
Twenty letters of support from members of her staff were presented in court as evidence.
Pantalone was granted an absolute discharge on Monday. The Crown attorney agreed to the outcome because Pantalone is a first-time offender and the incident was "a serious misjudgment" and not in keeping with her character.
The Crown also noted that the child suffered no visible injuries and no medical attention was required.
With a report from CTV's Desmond Brown
