John Hanna/AP
- Kansas state Rep. Mark Samsel was accused of kicking a high school student in the groin in April.
- Samsel originally faced three battery charges, but he pleaded guilty to lesser charges and received a year-long probation deal.
- On social media, Samsel claimed he had a stress-related "episode of mania," the AP reported.
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A member of the Kansas state legislature who was accused of kicking a student in the groin pleaded guilty on Monday to three charges of disorderly conduct and received probation.
Mark Samsel, 36, was arrested at a high school in the Wellsville school district in April. He was acting as a substitute teacher in an art class when he had altercations with two teenaged students, the Associated Press reported.
"You're about ready to anger me and get the wrath of God," Samsel said to one student, according a report from the Kansas City Star. "Do you believe me when I tell you that God has been speaking to me?"
The student told police that Samsel pushed him against a wall and kicked him, reporting that "his back and testicles were in pain" afterward, the AP reported from an affidavit.
Samsel originally faced three misdemeanor criminal battery charges, which each carry penalties of up to six months in jail and a $1,000 fine in Kansas.
In a deal with the prosecutors, Samsel pleaded guilty to three misdemeanor charges of disorderly conduct.
Franklin County Magistrate Judge Kevin Kimball sentenced Samsel to serve 90 days in jail for the guilty pleas, but agreed to suspend the sentence in favor of a year's probation.
The lawmaker is banned from using social media and can't have any contact with the students who reported him. He also promised to write apology letters to each student, AP News reported.
Samsel, a Republican, represents the area of Wellsville in the Kansas state legislature, where he sits on the Education Committee. He did not immediately return Insider's request for comment.
Franklin County prosecutor Brandon Jones did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.
