Former Riverside University High School paraprofessional Demitrios Visvardis has pleaded not guilty to a misdemeanor battery charge accusing him of striking an 18-year-old student with disabilities in a school hallway, a case that has put fresh scrutiny on how Milwaukee Public Schools hires and oversees classroom aides.
Plea, Bond and What Comes Next
Yesterday, Visvardis entered his not guilty plea in Milwaukee County Circuit Court, where Judge David Borowski set a $1,000 personal-recognizance bond and ordered him to have no contact with the student, as reported by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. The court scheduled a deferred-prosecution agreement hearing for Feb. 23, the outlet reports.
Under Wisconsin law, the single battery count carries potential penalties of up to nine months in jail and a $10,000 fine, according to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
Hallway Confrontation and the Student at the Center
Milwaukee police say the alleged battery happened Nov. 12 in a hallway at Riverside University High School and that officers arrested a 39-year-old paraprofessional the following day, according to WISN. The student, identified by her family as 18-year-old Shrone Dunn, is mostly nonverbal and lives with cerebral palsy and scoliosis, the outlet reports.
Family members told reporters Dunn began experiencing panic attacks after the incident and said they reviewed school security footage that they say shows the aide slapping their daughter, WISN reports.
District Response and Parents’ Legal Plans
Milwaukee Public Schools notified families that it was investigating the incident, said the staff member is no longer working at Riverside and offered counseling to students and staff who may have been affected, according to a letter cited by CBS 58…