A Delta High School teacher who allegedly gave his students permission to beat a classmate who was late for class has been charged with child abuse.

Brian Havel, 22, was teaching English at the school March 14 when the boy arrived after class started.

“In his class, the disciplinary process was X amount of sit-ups or push-ups in a certain amount of time. He either wouldn’t or couldn’t complete them,” Delta interim Police Chief Roger Christian said of the punished student.

The boy’s classmates volunteered to administer an alternate punishment.

“The class made a suggestion that if he couldn’t finish, we ought to be able to punch him, and (Havel) agreed. So 10 to 15 students got to hit him,” Christian said.

Havel has resigned and is no longer at the school, said Delta principal Delaine Hudson. Havel couldn’t be reached for comment.

The boy, who hasn’t been identified, wasn’t seriously hurt and didn’t require medical assistance.

Teachers at the school don’t normally punish students by making them perform physical exercise, Hudson said.

“We do have a letter of resignation,” said Delta Joint School District spokesman John Jones.

Havel is due in court April 30.