By Cherrie Anne E. Villahermosa
Variety News Staff

A 52-year-old teacher who was charged for punching a woman when she refused to have sex with him was found guilty on one count of assault and battery by Superior Court Judge Juan T. Lizama at a bench trial on Thursday.
Hopwood teacher Peter Gannon was charged with two counts of assault and battery but Lizama acquitted him of the other assault and battery charge.
Lizama sentenced Gannon to one year of probation and ordered him to pay a fine of $1,000 and a restitution fee of $135 for her medical expenses.
Lizama also ordered the teacher to write a letter of apology to the victim and to perform 100 hours of community work service.
Gannon will complete anger management counseling and not have any contact with the victim.
He is to stay away from the victim’s work place, Chicago Club, and is prohibited from consuming alcohol in any public place.
Assistant Attorney General Melissa Simms, who prosecuted the case ,said the commonwealth is pleased with the court’s verdict and is satisfied with the sentence.
“As stated by Judge Lizama, Mr. Gannon clearly has an anger problem and the commonwealth hopes that through anger management counseling and through his court-ordered service to the community, he will resolve those issues,” Simms said in an e-mail on Friday.
Simms said the victim is also pleased with the verdict and now feels safe and is no longer threatened by Gannon’s actions.
“I hope that the result of this case sends a message to the community that such violence toward anyone in our community will not be tolerated and that such actions will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law,” Simms said.
The bench trial for Gannon started on Monday last week and was concluded on Thursday.
The government presented seven witnesses while the defendant, represented by attorney Viola Alepuyo, presented six witnesses, including the defendant himself.