A grainy video allegedly showing a South Jersey teacher kicking a chair out from under a student has been released to the public.

Kimberley Peschi, 42, of Galloway, was originally found guilty of simple assault after she was accused of using her leg to pull a 12-year-old student’s chair backward at Belhaven Middle School in Linwood in 2017. The sixth-grader, who had been rocking back and forth in the chair, fell and hit his head on the floor.

Kimberley Peschi, 42, of Galloway Township, was found not guilty of simple assault in connection with a 2017 incident involving a student.

Following an appeal by Peschi, Superior Court Judge John Rauh reversed the municipal court guilty verdict in May and vacated an order requiring her to forfeit public employment over the case.

The security camera footage was released by the Atlantic County Prosecutor’s Office on Monday in response to a public records request. The video was blurred to conceal the faces of students.

While prosecutors accused Peschi of deliberate behavior in the incident, her defense attorney denied that claim.

Peschi was initially suspended with pay from her job, where she collected a salary of more than $77,000 per year, but had to surrender her job because of the municipal court order.

Rauh noted that, after looking at the video, Peschi’s claim that she was trying to stabilize the chair was “plausible,” according to The Press of Atlantic City.

While he believed she meant to put her foot on the chair, Rauh said he didn’t believe she intended to hurt the student.

Peschi’s attorney, Robert Agre, expressed surprise that the video was released, saying the municipal court judge who handled the matter placed a confidentiality order on the video, since it shows children.

“The consent order does not address release of even a redacted version of the security video,” Agre said Monday.

Matt Gray may be reached at mgray@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @MattGraySJT. Find NJ.com on Facebook. Have a tip? Tell us: nj.com/tips.

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