Helena Flats Superintendent Pleads No Contest to Corporal Punishment Charge After Alleged Assault of Student
Andy Maheras on Thursday appeared at a change of plea hearing in Flathead County Justice Court. The school superintendent will pay a $285 fine and serve a six-month deferred sentence following an altercation with a 12-year-old student last fall.
By Denali Sagner
The superintendent of a local school district accused of physically assaulting a 12-year-old student pleaded no contest to one count of corporal punishment on Thursday as part of a deal with the Flathead County Attorney’s Office.
Helena Flats School District Superintendent Andy Maheras was charged last November with two counts of misdemeanor assault following an altercation with a student in which Maheras allegedly grabbed the student by the arms and face and pushed him into a locker.
Maheras last month pleaded not guilty to both assault charges. On Thursday, during a hearing before Justice of the Peace Paul Sullivan, he entered a plea of no contest to a reduced charge of corporal punishment. As part of the agreement, prosecutors agreed to dismiss the second charge.
A no contest plea means the defendant is not admitting guilt or fault, but that, given the evidence against them, they believe they could be found guilty if their case were to go to trial.
Per the plea agreement, Maheras will pay a $285 fine and serve a six-month deferred sentence. Under a deferred sentence, Maheras will not serve jail time and, so long as Maheras abides by the law for six months, the charge will be dropped from his record.
Helena Flats School Board Chair Kevin Fritz said on June 4 that Maheras will continue to serve as superintendent of the school district.
Attorney Elizabeth Kaleva of the Missoula-based Kaleva Law Firm, which is representing the Helena Flats School District, said in an email on Friday, “The District will review the outcome of the legal proceedings and the Board will determine the appropriate steps going forward. Any Board action will be addressed at a Board meeting, which will be properly noticed.”
According to an affidavit of probable cause filed Nov. 20, 2023 by Deputy Flathead County Attorney Larissa Malloy, Maheras allegedly grabbed a 12-year-old male student by the arms and face and pushed the student into a locker after attempting to discipline the student for kissing another student in the hallway. The incident is reported to have occurred on school grounds on Aug. 31, 2023.
Per the affidavit, the student alleged that Maheras grabbed his chin and squeezed his face, which the student described as the feeling of “if you were squeezing a stress ball” and said that “it hurt.”
In an internal investigation conducted two months after the alleged assault, investigators from the Kaleva Law Firm found by “a preponderance of evidence” that Maheras violated school district policy, as “hurting a student by grabbing him by the face is not proper restraint but, instead, satisfies the definition of corporal punishment.”
The Helena Flats School Board on Nov. 2, 2023 reviewed the investigation, at which point the board disciplined Maheras via “a letter of reprimand and directives,” and allowed him to continue his in-person work.
The Flathead County Attorney’s Office on Nov. 20, 2023 charged Maheras with misdemeanor assault. The Helena Flats School District notified parents of the charges on Dec. 12, 2023, at which point it was announced that Maheras would be working remotely until further notice.
Editor’s note: This story has been updated to include an additional comment from the Kaleva Law Firm on behalf of the Helena Flats School District.