CHESTERFIELD, Va. (AP) - A former Virginia school bus aide will avoid jail time after pleading guilty to an assault charge for grabbing the back of a 12-year-old boy’s neck.
The Richmond Times-Dispatch reports John Wescott pleaded guilty to the misdemeanor count in exchange for prosecutors dropping charges of felony child abuse and strangulation.
The incident happened Feb. 7 as the boy was riding a bus home from the Grafton School, a private institution for students with behavioral health and intellectual disabilities. Police said Westcott intervened in a “disruptive type of activity” that centered on the boy, who has autism.
The boy’s father urged Judge D. Gregory Carr to sentence Wescott to serve a year in jail.
Carr imposed a 90-day suspended sentence and a $500 fine.
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Information from: Richmond Times-Dispatch, http://www.richmond.com
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