The assistant principal of Montville High School, who has been on paid leave since January 2018, applied for accelerated rehabilitation Monday in Superior Court in Norwich in an effort to resolve the charges against her in the school's so-called slapboxing case.

Tatiana Patten, 60, is one of three administrators charged with failing to report suspected abuse to the state Department of Children and Families after discovering a substitute teacher was supervising classroom slapboxing matches in October 2017. Educators are considered mandated reporters of child abuse under state law, and Patten is charged with a misdemeanor offense.

Should Judge Nuala Droney grant Patten accelerated rehabilitation at her court date on Sept. 9, Patten eventually would be able to get the charges fully dismissed if she complied with court-set conditions and incurred no further charges. 

"I believe it is the most equitable solution for all parties involved," said Patten's attorney, Drzilav "Dado" Coric. "Accelerated rehabilitation doesn't require an admission or finding of guilty, and the dismissal you get is the same."

Patten, who has 18 years of service with the town, is the last of four people to resolve her case in the slapboxing incident.

Ryan Fish, the substitute teacher charged with refereeing slapboxing bouts in his math class, was fired four days after Superintendent Brian Levesque received an email containing videos of the fights. State police charged Fish with two counts of risk of injury to a minor, second-degree breach of peace and four counts of second-degree reckless endangerment. He was granted accelerated rehabiliation.

The students involved in capturing videos of the fights and in the fights themselves were disciplined, according to school officials.

Levesque negotiated a severance package worth more than $230,000 and resigned from the school district in October 2018. His criminal charge was dismissed.

High school Principal Jeffrey Theodoss retired ahead of schedule in August 2018, and the state didn't prosecute the criminal charge against him.