Former Ball-Chatham staff member charged with battery involving 3 children

CHATHAM, Ill. (WAND) - A former Ball-Chatham Community Schools staff member will face battery charges after being accused of hurting three children.

Court documents state Susan Perko, an employee at Glenwood Elementary School, was charged with spraying three kids on Feb. 20 with a substance that physically irritated them.

According to a police report, officers responded to GES after reports that three kids under the age of 18 had been sprayed in the eyes with a cleaning fluid by a school employee.

The police report said officers reviewed school surveillance footage, which showed Perko walk into the cafeteria with a spray bottle and spray the three children with what was later identified as Eco Sanitizer.

The kids were later seen by the school nurse, where one child was diagnosed with a chemical burn to the eye, according to the report. Police said that the kids told the nurse they got sprayed by Perko because they were talking.

Ball-Chatham director of communications said Perko resigned from the district four days later, but did not give more details because it is "a personnel matter."