Harvard Student Brought to Court In Assault Case

The first of four persons arrested Oct. 31 in disturbances surrounding the trespass trial of Cheyney Ryan comes to trial today at 9 a.m. in Middlesex County Third District Court.

Phillip A. DeSimone faces charges of assault and battery and disorderly person in connection with a shoving match that occurred in front of the courthouse after Judge M. Edward Viola had ordered the court cleared..

Approximately 75 witnesses and spectators-but none of the Harvard administration also in attendance-were ordered out of the court for hissing and booing during the three-hour trial that resulted in a two-month prison term and a $200 fine for Ryan.

Uniformed and plainclothes police began beating the withdrawing crowd and made four arrests. Michael Sobel and John Pennington, both Harvard students, and James Whitney, an associate professor at the University of Massachusetts, will all seek continuances to delay their cases..

Like DeSimone, Whitney faces a possible two-and-a-half year prison term for assault and battery, and a six month term for disorderly person. Sobel is charged with disorderly conduct and disturbing the peace, with a maximum six-month prison sentence on each charge. Pennington will come to trial for contempt of court and disorderly person.