Ex-Glenbard S. student gets 90 days for pushing assistant principal

A former Glenbard South High School sophomore was sentenced to 90 days in jail Friday for shoving a female assistant principal during a scuffle with another student.

Maurice J. Cullum, 17, of Glen Ellyn, pleaded guilty to battery last month stemming from the May incident where Assistant Principal Pamela Petersen tried to break up the fight between Cullum and another student. She was knocked to the ground twice during the tussle and sustained minor injuries, according to a release from DuPage County State's Attorney Joseph Birkett.

Cullum was facing a potential five-year prison sentence. In addition to the jail time, Cullum was sentenced to 30 months probation, 120 hours of community service and ordered to obtain a high school diploma or GED.

Cullum had been jailed since his arrest in lieu of $20,000 bond. Friday was Cullum's 86th day of incarceration. He will serve the remainder of his sentence and be released Tuesday, an official from Birkett's office said.

"With the beginning of the school year just weeks away, it is important that we do all we can to ensure that our schools are as safe as possible, for students and teachers alike," Birkett said. "It is indeed unfortunate any time violence enters the school. If teachers and students fear for their own personal safety while at school, our entire educational system suffers."

It is unclear what prompted the fight between the students. Prosecutors said the aggression began a day earlier outside the school and carried over to the next morning when the fight occurred.

Cullum told police he was acting in self-defense when he pushed Petersen. He claimed several people attacked him before classes started and he was unaware one of the people he was fending off was a school administrator. Judge Kathryn Creswell reviewed surveillance footage of the fight from the school before handing down the sentence.