An Ohio grand jury has formally indicted a man for chasing down and assaulting a special-needs toddler.
The man was caught on school surveillance footage knocking the child down and faces more than one year in prison for what officials call child abuse.
Montgomery County Prosecutor Mat Heck Jr. identified Darrick Y. Sorrells, 56, as the paraprofessional who is seen on the video chasing 3-year-old Braylen Tootle down the Rosa Parks Early Childhood Learning Center hallway on Aug. 21.
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When Sorrels catches the child, he is seen knocking him in the head before making him fall, scooping him up, and carrying him upside down by his ankle to the classroom in the Dayton, Ohio, school.
Another worker sees part of the incident and takes the child from the man.
The child’s parents, Robert Tootle and Taneshia Lindsay say they were not immediately told about the severity of the incident. They were informed only about an altercation the day Braylen went home from school — but a video given to them later by child services gave them a full and accurate view of what happened.
What made matters worse for the family is that the offender was not immediately terminated from the school, a school young Braylen still attends.
“They shouldn’t have sent him home pending investigation,” Lindsay said. “He should have left that school in handcuffs.”
The DOE eventually suspended Sorrells but never fired him.
“The employee involved in the incident was placed on administrative leave that day. He ultimately resigned in lieu of termination. The District has reported this incident to the Ohio Department of Education.”
Jurors of his peers indicted Sorrells on one count of assault, a fourth-degree felony, and two counts of endangering children, a misdemeanor.
Heck was outraged at Sorrell’s behavior.
“The video of this incident is simply outrageous,” the official said, “No child should ever be subjected to such cruelty, and it is made worse by the fact the offender is a school employee. This child, his parents, and our community should expect and deserve better from our school employees.”
The prosecution also revealed that there were two videos of the incident.
David Lawrence, DPS interim superintendent, says that the district is responding by exploring how it can ensure that employees are not only qualified to work with children but have been properly trained.
“Fitness for duty will be measured in terms of job qualification, training, and social-emotional health and well-being,” Lawrence said, according to the Dayton Daily News. “As a reminder, the safety of all students is our utmost priority, and we would like to thank families for their support as we work to ensure a safe school environment for all learners.”
Sorrells is expected to surrender to face the charges on Oct. 19.
