IL: Aide tells of teacher's excessive force to control autistic students

Trial hears of ways he tried to control autistic students
By George Houde December 10, 2008
http://www.chicagot ribune.com/ news/local/ chi-autism- teacher-10dec10, 0,1632825. story

A former special-education teacher at a Schaumburg school may have used excessive force in trying to control autistic students but did not appear to intend harm, a prosecution witness said Tuesday at the teacher's trial.

Habib Behrouzi, a former aide at Frost Junior High School, testified that teacher Patrick E. McCarthy appeared to be on edge in August 2007 at the start of classes and that McCarthy used more force than he thought was needed to cope with students who were disruptive in class.

McCarthy, 32, of Palatine, is on trial in the Rolling Meadows branch of Cook County Circuit Court on charges of aggravated battery and unlawful restraint.

McCarthy was arrested in September 2007 after Behrouzi and another teacher's aide at Frost made allegations that he had abused students, then 11 and 12 years old, in his classroom.

Behrouzi was an aide in McCarthy's classroom but had little experience at the time with autistic students.

Prosecutors have alleged that McCarthy slammed a child's head into a cabinet. But under questioning by defense lawyer Thomas Breen, Behrouzi gave a somewhat different account.

Behrouzi said the student would lean back in his chair and that McCarthy would push the chair forward to prevent the child from falling. On one occasion, the child fell forward and bumped into a cabinet when McCarthy pushed the chair, Behrouzi said.

The boy suffered a small bruise, he said.

Another student would kick off his shoes, and McCarthy sometimes threw the shoes back at the student, hitting him, Behrouzi testified.

At the time, McCarthy had taught for three years in Schaumburg-based Community Consolidated School District 54. He has opted for a bench trial before Judge John Scotillo.

Prosecutors have alleged that McCarthy forced a student to wear a weighted vest while jumping on a trampoline and tied another student to a chair with a jump-rope.