Hatch Survives Another Ordeal

By Stephen M. Silverman

08/04/1998 at 12:00 AM EDT

"Survivor" winner Richard Hatch had another good day yesterday. Prosecutors in Providence, R.I., (where, before his celebrity, Hatch was a corporate trainer) dropped a second-degree child abuse charge against him, reports the Associated Press. The charge stemmed from an alleged incident last April, when Hatch was accused of wrapping his hands around the neck of his 9-year-old son, who was said to have tired of Hatch's exercise regime during a run. (Police apparently acted on the word of Hatch's son, who was temporarily removed from the home by the state child welfare agency.) No explanation for yesterday's court dismissal was given, and a spokesman for the Rhode Island attorney General's office declined comment in light of the fact that Hatch is suing the state's welfare agency. Hatch, 39, has gone on record as saying that he is innocent and that authorities bungled the case. He is also suing his hometown of Middletown, R.I., for alleged wrongful arrest and defamation. He's asking for more than $1 million.