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Teen charged in body-slamming incident at South Pointe HS avoids jail

ROCK HILL, S.C. — The teenager who body-slammed another student at South Pointe High School in Rock Hill last year was sentenced on Tuesday.

[PAST COVERAGE: 16-year-old pleaded guilty in fight at South Pointe High School]

A judge sentenced the teen to probation until he turns 18. He will be required to undergo anger management counseling and perform community service, and will have to make small restitution for the other student's remaining medical bills .

There is also a restraining order still in place, since both students are back at South Pointe.

The family court judge told the teen what he should have done. "I can't excuse you for what you did. It sometimes takes a bigger man to walk away, than to address the situation," said the judge.

The teen's public defender said, "My client at one point tried to walk away from this, but when I think he said the word in front of him, my client overreacted."

The victim was not in court on Tuesday, but his mother was. She did not speak to the court, so assistant solicitor Whitney Payne spoke for her.

"Speaking to the victim's mother, we understand that she would like to see him do some community service so he would learn from this experience," said the prosecutor.

Officials said the fight in April 2018, which was caught on camera, started after the victim used a racial slur.

The video showed the two students fighting, and then one of the students being thrown to the ground and as he lifted his head, another punch was thrown.

The police report said the student who was body-slammed suffered a concussion, deep bruising of his head and a minor spinal injury.

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