A Lowell Teacher’s Aide Was Accused of Throwing a Rubik’s Cube

Rubik’s Cube image via iStock

A teacher’s aide in Lowell headed to trial on Wednesday for charges of assault with a dangerous weapon. The weapon in this case, though, is a Rubik’s Cube.

According to the Lowell Sun, 30-year-old Matthew Fraser allegedly berated a student and then threw the puzzle at him on January 27. Fraser, who is also the boy’s basketball coach at Sullivan Middle School, is said to have blamed the student for losing a basketball game.

Police say both Fraser and the student had left the gym, and were walking in the hallway while Fraser was swearing at the student. Fraser allegedly punched a locker and then threw the Rubik’s Cube. The Sun reports that the cube hit the floor and bounced upward. The student was not hurt, but the colorful cube appears to have hit another teacher who chose not to press charges.

There’s a twist—Fraser’s attorney, Robert Normandin, said “At no time did he (Fraser) throw a Rubik’s Cube at anyone.”

Instead, witnesses testified that he threw the Rubik’s Cube at the floor, while the student was already 3o to 50 feet down the hallway being escorted to the principal’s office. Teacher Matthew Sheehan described the throwing of the puzzle similar to a “Gronk Spike.”

After Wednesday’s trial, Lowell District Court Judge Thomas Brennan found Fraser not guilty.

“I don’t think there is a single bit of evidence, not a scintilla, that he intentionally threw it (the Rubik’s Cube) at the student,” Brennan said.

A puzzling case, indeed.