Brought to you by WBIW News and Network Indiana
Last updated on Monday, November 21, 2016
(BEDFORD) - A former special education teacher at Stalker Elementary School was found not guilty of battery on Friday.
62-year-old Orland McConnell was found not guilty of battery on a person younger than 14, Level 6 felony, by a six-person jury.
McConnell, formerly a special education teacher at Stalker Elementary School, was accused of grabbing a student, forcing the 9-year-old into a chair and slamming the boy's head on a desk three times. He resigned after his arrest on June 12, 2015.
Since the time of the incident, McConnell has denied the charge, saying he was only trying to stop the boy from hurting himself.
According to testimony during the two day trail the boy suffers attention deficit disorder, oppositional defiance disorder and is bipolar and prone to having breakdowns.
According to the Times-Mail, McConnell testified that he did grab the boy in an effort to prevent him from hurting himself and others during a breakdown.
The boy's mother testified that sometimes she had to call police or have him placed in the hospital during some of his other breakdowns.
However, Prosecution Attorney Michelle Woodward says the evidence proved otherwise saying both the boy and teacher's aid Lisa Lane both told the same story that McConnell grabbed the boy and slammed his face into a deck more than once.
It only took the jury about an hour to come back with a not guilty verdict.
McConnell has been teaching at Ivy Tech and now hopes to return to teaching at North Lawrence Community Schools.
1340 AM WBIW welcomes comments and suggestions by calling 812.277.1340 during normal business hours or by email at comments@wbiw.com
© Ad-Venture Media, Inc. All Rights Reserved.