MySpace punch lands suspension for Ohio student

MANSFIELD, Ohio - Officials at a high school have suspended a 19-year-old seen punching another student in the jaw in a video posted on MySpace.com.

Douglas Lawhorn agreed to pay the other student $70 before delivering the blow, which knocked the student out, said Superintendent David Williamson.

"These two guys are friends," said sheriff's deputy Chuck Kochis said. "This was just a prank for kids. They thought it would be cool and an easy $70."

Lawhorn, scheduled to graduate this spring from Madison High, was suspended Tuesday for three days and faces an expulsion hearing on Monday, Williamson said. A telephone number for Lawhorn or his family could not immediately be found.

School officials were considering disciplining both the student who was punched and the student who filmed it in the school parking lot, Williamson said.

The video was posted to the page on MySpace, a social networking Web site, belonging to the student who was struck and was taken down this week, Kochis said. *