DECATUR, Ill. (WAND) — A former Decatur Public Schools teacher's aide was sentenced to 18 months of probation after pleading guilty at a bench trial on Tuesday.
Ben Evans was allowed to resign from his position before being terminated last October.
The incident, which occurred in September of 2023, involved Evans picking up a six-year-old boy at Garfield Alternative School and throwing him back to the ground.
Multiple eyewitness accounts from teachers and staff who witnessed the incident agreed that it began when Evans ripped a ball from the child's hand before picking him up and forcefully putting him down.
The child's mother, Clarissa Brooks, described how she felt after seeing surveillance video of the interaction.
"[I felt] Blind rage. Because how someone can have kind of animosity and contempt for a developmentally disabled child is mind boggling when they are filling a caregiver role — its terrifying," Brooks explained.
WAND News first covered this case as part of an investigation into child abuse in schools.
As part of his plea deal, Evans will serve 18 months probation, go through a mental health evaluation, and register as part of the Violent Offender Against Youth Act.
"I think a lot of changes need to be made in our community, but this is a step in the right direction," said Brooks regarding Tuesday's judgement.
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