ESSEX, MA – Wilmington High School physical education teacher Anthony J. Altieri was arrested on Sunday morning at his Essex home on charges of domestic assault and battery on an intimate partner, assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, and destruction of personal property.
According to the Gloucester Times (Phys ed teacher arrested for domestic assault by Sean Horgan), the alleged female victim told the police that a verbal dispute turned physical, ending with Altieri grabbing the alleged victim by the back of her head and smashing her face into a door frame.
The officer, who interviewed the alleged victim at the hospital, noted her nose appeared to be extremely swollen and possibly broken, with an open wound on the bridge. The officer also observed a large, open laceration on her forehand.
The Gloucester Times, citing police documents, reported that Altieri admitted to police he struck the alleged victim. Altieri claimed, however, she slapped him before he stuck her.
Altieri was released from jail on Monday after posting $1,000 bail.
When asked about Altieri, Wilmington Superintendent of Schools Mary DeLai issued the following statement to Wilmington Apple:
“[On Tuesday], the Wilmington Public Schools was made aware of allegations surrounding one of our staff members as a result of events that occurred at his home over the weekend.
The staff member, Mr. Anthony Altieri, is a thirteen-year veteran of the Wilmington Public Schools, teaches physical education at Wilmington High School and was a baseball coach for many years in the school district. Mr. Altieri is a well-respected educator with a solid record of performance at Wilmington High School.
At this time, we intend to respect the legal process, being mindful of his due process rights and his right to his day in court. Mr. Altieri has been placed on paid administrative leave so that the school district can explore the issues and allow everyone to prepare to move forward. We wish all parties in this matter well and hope that they are able to heal from this unfortunate incident, and we respect his right to deal with this matter privately.”
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Wilmington Apple 
there is always 2 sides of every story. what did she do to him.to set him off like that.
Oh yes, let’s blame the victim of domestic assault because it’s easier to do than admit that what he did was wrong. I don’t care what she did, he had no right to put his hands on her. Unless it is self defense, it is never okay to intentionally cause someone physical harm. So no, there really isn’t two sides to this story. Let’s not defend him for doing something despicable.
He’s a grown man. If he can’t take a slap from a woman, if that even happened, and not retaliate, then he is a coward.
How is she an “alleged” victim when he flat out admitted that he hit her? That plus her wounds seems like a victim to me. This is a sad excuse for journalism, victim blaming is NOT the way to go. It’s pathetic that you glorify an admitted abuser. It’s never okay in any circumstance. Shame on you, Wilmington Apple.
No victim blaming here. Journalists are supposed to use the word “allegedly” for any crime before a conviction, as the Gloucester Times (http://www.gloucestertimes.com/news/local_news/phys-ed-teacher-arrested-for-domestic-assault/article_3a1f4d4f-e90b-5fbc-9ece-25a484c12e2c.html), Lowell Sun (http://www.lowellsun.com/breakingnews/ci_30365423/wilmington-teacher-accused-domestic-incident), and Wilmington Patch (http://patch.com/massachusetts/wilmington/wilmington-teacher-arrested-domestic-assault-battery-charges-report) also all did with this story. If you take the word “alleged” out, the writer — at the very least — opens him/herself up to lawsuits. I can’t fathom how someone could read this article and come away with any sort of positive opinion of Altieri. It was not my intention to “glorify” the man and I’m sorry you feel that I did. I will try to do better in the future.
Don’t even sweat that, the article was fine.
Any updates on this story?