OH: 3 Employees Acquitted in Restraint Death

Excerpt from The Associated Press:

By MEGHAN BARR (AP) –

February 10, 2010

CLEVELAND — A jury on Tuesday acquitted three former employees of an Ohio treatment center for troubled teens of involuntary manslaughter in the death of a 17-year-old girl who suffocated and choked on her own vomit after being restrained facedown on the floor.

Cynthia King, Lazarita Menendez and Ebony Ray were also found not guilty of child endangering in the December 2008 death of Faith Finley. Menendez was also found not guilty of felonious assault and inciting to violence.

Menendez faced additional charges because she initiated the incident by taking Finley's CD player, which the disruptive 17-year-old used to calm herself, and shoved the girl's hand under her as she lay on the floor, prosecutors said.

The women, who pleaded not guilty, were fired from the Parmadale Family Services center after Finley's death. The Cuyahoga County coroner ruled Finley's death a homicide.

The type of restraint prosecutors say the women used was later banned by Gov. Ted Strickland at the recommendation of state agencies that said the technique carries a high risk of serious injury or death.

Ray, of Broadview Heights, and Menendez, of Bedford Heights, were accused of wrestling Finley to the ground on her chest and applying pressure to her back — a technique known as prone restraint — while King watched.

******

Center director Tom Mullen said Tuesday that the workers violated the center's personnel policies and will not be rehired.

A wrongful death lawsuit filed by Finley's family last year against Parmadale, Catholic Charities and the three workers was settled last month. The lawsuit had sought at least $50,000 in compensatory and punitive damages, but both parties were prohibited from discussing details of the agreement.

India: Teacher sent to 3-month jail for beating student

Excerpt from The Times of India

TNN, 3 February 2010, 06:55am IST

AHMEDABAD: To set an example in order to curb corporal punishment in schools, a city court on Tuesday punished a teacher and sentenced him three-month imprisonment for beating a student. The court has also awarded compensation of Rs 5,000 to the student.

[The teacher, Ranjitsingh] Yadav teaches Hindi language at Rashtriya Bharti Hindi School located at the CTM in Amraiwadi and went to standard IX on February 20, 2002 to [seek] books from students [and] to check home work assigned to them. A student named Mukesh Kushwaha, who had forgotten to bring the book to school that day, could not satisfy the teacher's queries.

Angry with the student, the teacher twisted Kushwaha's left arm and caused a fracture. The student was then rushed to the hospital for treatment, but his parents lodged a complaint with the Amraiwadi police station.

For the full article, please click the following link: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/ahmedabad/Teacher-sent-to-3-mnth-jail-for-beating-student/articleshow/5529070.cms

OH: Abuse Case Against Local Teacher Dismissed

Excerpt from WPCO.com

Reported by: Lance Barry
Email: lance.barry@wcpo.com
Last Update: 12:47 pm

http://www.wcpo.com/news/local/story/Abuse-Case-Against-Local-Teacher-Dismissed/9Vn7yrPA4UKuSxb0Wy7u3w.cspx

COLERAIN TWP., Ohio -- A teacher at St. John the Baptist School has been cleared of criminal charges after another teacher turned her in last year for being physical with a child.

Kathleen Winters, 57, of Fairfield saw her disorderly conduct charge dismissed on Friday by Hamilton County Judge Bernie Bouchard.

Winters was cited last October in the alleged incident that dated back to August 26.

*****

Winters allegedly grabbed the arm of a 6-year-old student and pulled him away from a drinking fountain, while lecturing him.

It happened in front of another teacher who had escorted the student to the drinking fountain.

9News has learned the child in question has a medical condition that requires him to rehydrate often.

According to Colerain police, Winters was responsible for a group of students in a gym class. Those students were in line at the fountain when the 6-year-old was allowed in to the fountain.

"This case involved an attempt to maintain order in a classroom," Blankenship said. "There was no injury, no physical force, and no risk of injury. This teacher simply attempted to redirect a student away from the water fountain, since he wasn't supposed to be there. We intend to bring legal action against the school and all of those individuals who were involved in the persecution of this dedicated and innocent teacher."

For the full article, please click the following link: http://www.wcpo.com/news/local/story/Abuse-Case-Against-Local-Teacher-Dismissed/9Vn7yrPA4UKuSxb0Wy7u3w.cspx

TN: Coaches' Paddlings of High School Basketball Player Upheld

By Mark Walsh on December 11, 2009 5:04 PM |

http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/school_law/2009/12/coaches_paddlings_of_high_scho.html

A federal appeals court today upheld frequent paddlings of a high school basketball player in Memphis by his coaches over missed practices, tardiness, poor grades, and even, allegedly, for missed shots during basketball games.

Noting that Tennessee law permits corporal punishment by teachers "for good cause in order to maintain discipline and order within the public schools," a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit, in Cincinnati, ruled unanimously that "a reasonable juror could conclude that the paddlings administered by [the two coaches] were for disciplinary purposes, and were not 'excessive' in severity, frequency, motivation, or means."

The case brought by Martin Nolan, a student at Hamilton High School in Memphis from 2001 to 2004, against the two basketball coaches, school administrators, and the Memphis district alleged that the paddlings violated his 14th Amendment right to substantive due process of law.

At trial, the coaches denied paddling Nolan for missing shots, saying he may have been paddled for demonstrating poor technique on the court. But they acknowledged paddling him for disciplinary reasons and, on a few occasions, for poor grades. The district's then-superintendent testified that she believed one of the coaches paddled basketball players for missing shots and that she suspended him from coaching as a result.

The coaches said they did not use much force in paddling Nolan, and the defendants presented evidence that the student did not suffer any serious injuries. The jury ruled for the defendants on all claims.

In its ruling in Nolan v. Memphis City Schools, the 6th Circuit panel said the paddlings "did not amount to a brutal and inhumane abuse of official power that shocks the conscience."

"The Nolans contend that paddling a high school student for a nondisciplinary reason cannot be tolerated in a civilized society," the court said. "The jury, however, was entitled to draw a different conclusion."

MN: Court Rules On Teacher's Time-Out Room Punishment

December 3, 2009

From ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) ―

http://wcco.com/education/time.out.room.2.1347332.html

The Minnesota Department of Education ruled in 2007 that Willmar teacher Lisa Van Der Heiden mistreated the child by failing to take her to the bathroom.

The Minnesota Court of Appeals says a special education teacher didn't violate maltreatment rules when she took a child to a time-out room rather than a bathroom.

The Minnesota Department of Education ruled in 2007 that Willmar teacher Lisa Van Der Heiden mistreated the child by failing to take her to the bathroom. The girl wet her pants while in the time-out room.

The split appeals court says the Department of Education didn't adequately explain its finding that Van Der Heiden mistreated the child by sending her to the time-out room.

The West Central Tribune reports the teacher and Willmar school officials are also defendants in a federal civil rights lawsuit, alleging that Van Der Heiden excessively used physical restraints and a seclusion room. The case was dismissed, but is currently under appeal.

IN: Tennis coach gets 2 yrs. in prison for abusing students

Kawamoto pled guilty in August

Updated: Thursday, 19 Nov 2009, 10:40 PM EST
Published : Thursday, 19 Nov 2009, 9:06 PM EST

http://www.wishtv.com/dpp/news/crime/Greenwood-coach-sentenced-for-abuse

FRANKLIN, Ind. (Daily Journal) - A former Greenwood tennis coach has been sentenced to two years in prison after inappropriately touching three teen girls who came to him for private lessons.

Don Kawamoto, 53, pleaded guilty in August to three felony counts of sexual misconduct with a minor as part of a plea agreement with the Johnson County Prosecutor's Office.

He was joined at his sentencing hearing Thursday afternoon by friends and family, including his wife and four children, who spoke of Kawamoto as a good man, father and tennis coach.

Eight years in prison was the maximum sentence Kawamoto could have received. Factors such as a lack of criminal history balanced with the fact that Kawamoto broke a trust relationship with the victims led Johnson County Magistrate Richard Tandy to hand down a sentence of six years at the Department of Correction with all but two years suspended.

Kawamoto was arrested in January after a 15-year-old girl told police that he put his hands down her shirt and touched her breasts during a private lesson at a school facility, according to a probable-cause affidavit.

Kawamoto was fired from his first-year job as the boys varsity tennis coach at Greenwood Community High School.

At Thursday's hearing, the mother of one victim read a statement aloud, detailing how her daughter's life was affected by Kawamoto. Her daughter has problems sleeping and seldom goes out with friends, instead opting to stay home.

Kawamoto's family painted a different picture of him. His wife, Cindy, spoke of an attentive, devoted husband who would do anything for his children, on the tennis court and at home.

Getting fired from his job and having to register as a sex offender and endure media attention has been enough of a punishment, Cindy Kawamoto said.

Her husband apologized to his victims and wished them good luck in the future in both academics and athletics.

"I'm truly sorry for what I did," Kawamoto said during his hearing.

He originally faced another felony charge, sexual battery, but the prosecutor's office could prove only one of the two felonies from the first victim, Johnson County Prosecutor Brad Cooper has said.

Prosecutors opted to pursue sexual misconduct with a minor instead of sexual battery because the former charge is a higher-class felony and comes with a harsher sentence.

Two other girls came forward after the first teen made a report, and both said that similar incidents had happened to them over the past two years, the affidavit said.

The girls told police they couldn't remember how many times the incidents happened because they occurred often. In the case of one of the girls, Kawamoto told her parents not to come with their daughter to her lessons because their presence made her not practice as well, the affidavit said.

In two cases, Kawamoto called the girl a crybaby. He called one girl a crybaby after she wouldn't lift up her shirt for him and told another girl she was one, too, according to the affidavit.

After the first victim came forward, Kawamoto told police that he was trying to improve the girl's swing and accidentally touched her breast, Greenwood Police Chief Joe Pitcher has said.

Kawamoto later told officers that he touched the girl for sexual gratification and that in the past he had paid extra attention to positioning students because it gave him sexual gratification, Pitcher said.

As part of his sentence, Kawamoto will have to continue counseling.

WV: Ex-W.Va. school worker convicted of sex abuse

The Associated Press
Friday November 6, 2009 07:22 AM

http://www.timesonline.com/bct_news/news_details/article/1373/2009/november/06/ex-wva-school-worker-convicted-of-sex-abuse.html

A former Wyoming County school bus driver has been convicted of sexually abusing a 16-year-old female student.

Robert Junior Thomas of Wyoming faces 10 to 20 years in prison. A sentencing date hasn't been set.

The 46-year-old Thomas was convicted Wednesday in Wyoming County Circuit Court of sexual abuse by a parent, guardian or custodian.

Prosecutors say the victim was a student in the summer school program, where Thomas worked as a bus driver.

___

Information from: The Register-Herald,www.register-herald.com

PA: High court tosses ‘kids for cash’ convictions

WILKES-BARRE, Pa. - The Pennsylvania Supreme Court on Thursday dismissed thousands of juvenile convictions issued by a judge charged in a corruption scandal, saying that none of the young offenders got a fair hearing.

The high court on Thursday threw out more than five years' worth of juvenile cases heard by former Luzerne County Judge Mark Ciavarella, who is charged with accepting millions of dollars in kickbacks to send youths to private detention centers.

The Philadelphia-based Juvenile Law Center, which represents some of the youths, said the court's order covers as many as 6,500 cases. The justices barred any possibility of retrial in all but a fraction of them.

"This is exactly the relief these kids needed," said Marsha Levick, the center's legal director. "It's the most serious judicial corruption scandal in our history and the court took an extraordinary step in addressing it."

Children appeared without lawyers

Children routinely appeared in front of Ciavarella without lawyers for hearings that lasted only a few minutes. Ciavarella also failed to question young defendants to make sure they fully understood the consequences of waiving counsel and pleading guilty, showing "complete disregard for the constitutional rights of the juveniles," the Supreme Court said.

After being found delinquent, the youths were often shackled and taken to private jails whose owner was paying bribes to the judge. Federal prosecutors have said that Ciavarella and another Luzerne County judge, Michael Conahan, took a total of $2.8 million in payoffs.

"Ciavarella's admission that he received these payments, and that he failed to disclose his financial interests arising from the development of the juvenile facilities, thoroughly undermines the integrity of all juvenile proceedings before Ciavarella," the Supreme Court said.

The judges pleaded guilty in February to honest services fraud and tax evasion in a deal with prosecutors that called for a sentence of 87 months in prison. But the deal was rejected in August by Senior U.S. District Judge Edward M. Kosik, who said the two hadn't fully accepted responsibility for the crimes, and the ex-judges switched their pleas to not guilty.

A federal grand jury then returned a 48-count racketeeringindictment against the judges, who await trial.

The Supreme Court had previously overturned hundreds of juvenile convictions involving low-level offenses. Thursday's ruling covered all cases heard by Ciavarella between 2003 and 2008, including ones involving more serious crimes.

"We fully agree that, given the nature and extent of the taint, this Court simply cannot have confidence that any juvenile matter adjudicated by Ciavarella during this period was tried in a fair and impartial manner," the court wrote.

Prosecutors in Luzerne County had agreed that none of the convictions should stand, but they wanted the right to bring dangerous offenders back into court for retrials.

The court said the district attorney's office may seek to retry youths who remain under court supervision — a group that Levick said likely numbers fewer than 100. And those youths may challenge any attempt to retry them on double-jeopardy grounds, the court said.

Ex-judges seek immunity

Berks County Senior Judge Arthur Grim, whom the justices appointed in February to review cases handled by Ciavarella, will consider any retrial requests made by the DA's office and forward his recommendations to the high court.

Meanwhile, the two ex-judges have asked to be dismissed as defendants in a series of civil lawsuits filed in the wake of the juvenile justice scandal.

Ciavarella and former Luzerne County Judge Michael Conahan already face criminal charges.

Now, they're seeking judicial immunity from civil lawsuits filed on behalf of hundreds of youths they sentenced.

A federal judge in Wilkes-Barre heard arguments on Wednesday but did not immediately issue a decision.

Immunity is designed to give judges freedom to rule without fear of legal retribution. But plaintiffs' attorneys say the judges' conduct went beyond the scope of normal court business.

IL: Teacher fights Chicago Public Schools for disabled son's education

NOTE: Chicago Public Schools ignored a COURT ORDER to place this child with social/emotional disabilities into a therapeutic day school. The child had no placement and receive NO EDUCATIONAL SERVICES from the district until this past Tuesday...and only after the Chicago Tribune emailed the district to ask why the court order was being ignored...

Family of eighth grader resolves dispute with Chicago Public Schools

By Rex W. HuppkeTribune reporter

October 15, 2009

http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/chi-special-ed-cruz-15-oct15,0,4629063.story

Lissette Cruz thought she had won. She had a court order saying Chicago Public Schools had to place her 13-year-old son in a therapeutic day school to make up for the myriad ways the district had failed him over the years.

That was June 29. October arrived, and Christopher Cruz, a bright but emotionally disturbed eighth grader, still hadn't been placed in any school. He was staying at home or with relatives, and occasionally accompanying his mother to her job -- she's a Chicago Public Schools teacher.

At 11:03 a.m. Friday, the Tribune sent an e-mail to the district seeking comment about Cruz's case. Why hadn't Christopher been placed?

Within four hours, Deborah Duskey, head of the district's special education program, was on the phone with Cruz, telling her that Christopher would be able to start at the private Acacia Academy in the west suburbs this week. Tuesday was his first day. All it took was two years of parental pressure, an attorney, a court order and an e-mail from a newspaper.

The case of Christopher Cruz provides another glimpse into a special education system that many parents and disability advocates say is broken. They describe educational plans that fail to provide proper services to students with disabilities, poor monitoring of how special education students are progressing and parents' struggles to secure services even when they prevail over the district in court.

"They would rather litigate cases than just give the children what they need," said Nelly Aguilar, the attorney representing Christopher as well as the child of another Chicago teacher. "We were not trying to get [Christopher] a pony. We were just trying to get him basic educational resources."

Mary Fergus, spokeswoman for the Illinois State Board of Education, said that of the 28 due-process hearing orders rendered in Chicago Public Schools cases this year, 11 remain out of compliance. She said state board officials consider that to be an uncommonly high number compared with the last few years.

The district is in weekly contact with the state board regarding the status of these cases, Fergus said.

Duskey said a problem in the district's placement office caused the delay in Christopher's case.

"We should have had him placed and ready to go from day one," Duskey said. "This should've happened much earlier."

In fact, according to the court order, the district was required to conduct an Individualized Education Plan meeting with the family within 14 days of the June 29 decision. At that time, the district was to provide Cruz with the names of four private therapeutic day schools that could meet Christopher's needs.

But it was nearly two months before the meeting was held, and Cruz and her attorney say they never received the list of schools.

Duskey said the summer break made it difficult to assemble the staff to hold Christopher's meeting. She also noted that the district is bolstering its oversight of special education cases and developing a plan to avoid summer delays.

The district is expected to spend about $850 million on its roughly 45,000 special education students this year.

Cruz's problems with the district's special education system began long before she prevailed in her due process case. Worried about her son's erratic behavior -- he had anxiety problems and at times would shut down and stop speaking -- Cruz asked the district to evaluate Christopher in April 2006. It took until October 2006 for the district to deem the boy eligible for special education.

A district psychological report said that "Christopher demonstrates concerning social-emotional behaviors." But according to the court order, the district's educational plan did nothing to address Christopher's behavior.

In fall 2007, Christopher's mother agreed to modify her son's special education plan, removing writing assistance that she no longer thought was necessary. At that time, however, the district fully removed Christopher from its special education program. A year later, a surge in behavioral problems led Cruz to inquire about Christopher's services.

According to the June court ruling, the district never gave Cruz notice -- as required by law -- that her son had been removed from special education.

Additionally, the hearing officer criticized the district for failing to identify Christopher's needs, implementing a "defective" educational plan and failing to hold further planning meetings when "it was obvious that the student was not appropriately responding to social work services."

As a Chicago teacher, Cruz feels like she knows the system and was able to act as a strong advocate for her son. And still, she said, it was a lengthy fight that she fears set him back academically and emotionally.

"I just saw this bright light totally fade," she said. "He became like an entirely different person in some ways."

Now she sees Acacia as a fresh start. As Christopher came out of the school after his first day Tuesday, Cruz noticed something refreshing. Her son was smiling.

rhuppke@tribune.com

TN: Judge Rules Locked Seclusion Room Legal

NOTE: The Joseph Brown Elementary School is located in the Maury County Public School System in Columbia Tennessee. The 9 year old boy in this case was placed in a room with no interior handle in his underwear ; construction paper covered the door's window...This treatment has been deemed LEGAL in Tennessee....

Court sides with schools on seclusion rooms

Judge: No sign of wrongdoing
By CHRIS GRAHAM/ chrisgraham@c-dh.net

http://www.columbiadailyherald.com/articles/2009/09/23/top_stories/01seclusion.txt

Educators at Joseph Brown Elementary School can resume using a seclusion room for unruly students after a judge ruled against a mother angered by the treatment of her 9-year-old son.

On Thursday Chancery Court Judge Jim Hamilton dismissed a petition by Michelle Parks, who had alleged school officials broke state law by stripping her son to his underwear and leaving him in a bare concrete room on Sept. 15.

However, Tasha Walker, the child’s teacher, said in a court hearing Tuesday the boy was put in the room, which features a steel door with a small window and no interior handle, after he had become aggressive and wrapped his shirt around his neck in what appeared to be a harmful manner. She also said he kicked her and head-butted an assistant.

Hamilton said evidence presented in the court hearing Tuesday showed there was no sign of wrongdoing.

“There is no proof that the personnel at Joseph Brown Elementary School did not follow the statutory requirements when this child was placed in isolation,” the order reads.

Parks had asked the judge to bar educators from using the seclusion room and was granted an emergency injunction until a decision was made.

Kevin Latta, Parks’ attorney, said he respected the court’s decision and congratulated the school district.

“You can’t win them all,” he said. “The biggest concern is giving the student the help he needs as well as seeing to it that his education continues.”

A message left for School District Attorney Jake Wolaver was not immediately returned Thursday.

School spokeswoman Sharon Kinnard said the school district is content with Hamilton’s decision and that “it shows that we are following the rules and guidelines set forth by state and federal law as well as school board policy.”

“This ruling shows that we have dedicated employees that are well-trained and work hard to help every student prepare for the future,” she said.

Latta had claimed educators broke several guidelines in a state law passed in January by placing the boy in the seclusion room by himself with no way to get out. Walker testified Tuesday that when a student is being aggressive, a bar on the outside of the door is held to keep the student inside. Walker and other school officials testified the door’s handle had been removed and would always stay open if not held shut.

Latta also argued state law was violated when Walker placed a sheet of construction paper over the window, obstructing her view of the student.

However, Hamilton said the seclusion room use appeared to be “in the best interest and for the protection of the student...”

“It is not intended to be punishment, rather it is done in hopes that the student will gather themselves and no longer be a threat to harm themselves, other students and staff,” the order states.

Kelley Woodside, the district’s special education supervisor, said the seclusion room is the only one of its kind in the Maury County School District. Since July 2008, the room has been used 45 times and only for the skills acquisition class at Brown Elementary, Woodside said. Currently, there are three students in the class at Brown and about 2,000 special needs children district-wide.

“This proof tells the Court that the other 1,997 Special Education students are being well cared for and the teachers in the schools these children attend are doing a good job,” the order states.

Hamilton commended Maury County special education teachers for their top-notch work.

“These Special Education teachers are a dedicated lot who must have a very strong commitment to try and help these unfortunate children live as near a normal life as they possibly can with their affliction,” the order states.

Latta said he and his client are undecided on how to move forward.

D.C.: Court says public must pay for private special ed

Note: Good news from the Supreme Court!

6/22/09

Associated Press: http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5gzxsVAYHwaGjGyXVQAilpK4rfREAD98VPK6G0

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court has made it easier for parents of special education students to be reimbursed for the cost of private schooling for their children.

The court ruled 6-3 Monday in favor of a teenage boy from Oregon whose parents sought to force their local public school district to pay the $5,200 a month it cost to send their son to a private school.

Federal law calls for school districts to reimburse students or their families for education costs when public schools do not have services that address or fulfill the students' needs. Under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, the nation's special education students are entitled to a "free and appropriate public education."

Schools have argued that parents of special education students should have given public special education programs a chance before seeking reimbursement for private school tuition. But advocacy groups and parents of some special education students contend that forcing them to try public schools first could force children, especially poor ones, to spend time in an undesirable situation before getting the help they need.

In the case before the Supreme Court, the family of a teenage Oregon boy diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder sued the school district, saying the school did not properly address the student's learning problems. The family is seeking reimbursement for the student's tuition, which cost $5,200-a-month. The family paid a total of $65,000 in private tuition.

In its appeal, the Forest Grove School District said students should be forced to at least give public special education programs a try before seeking reimbursement for private tuition.

Justice John Paul Stevens said in his majority opinion that the federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act requires a school district to pay for private special ed services if the public school doesn't have appropriate services.

"We conclude that IDEA authorizes reimbursement for the cost of special education services when a school district fails to provide a FAPE and the private-school placement is appropriate, regardless of whether the child previously received special education or related services through the public school," Stevens said.

TX: Teen with 47 IQ gets 100 years in sex abuse case

Case stems from charges involving the fondling of a 6-year-old neighbor

updated 7:06 p.m. ET, Wed., June 10, 2009http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/31213058/

PARIS, Texas - A teenager who has profound mental disabilities was sentenced to 100 years in prison after pleading guilty to charges in a sex abuse case involving his 6-year-old neighbor.

Aaron Hart, 18, of Paris, was arrested and charged after a neighbor found him fondling her stepson in September. The teen pleaded guilty to five counts, including aggravated sexual assault and indecency by contact, and a jury decided his punishment.

Lamar County Judge Eric Clifford decided to stack the sentences against Hart after jurors settled on two five-year terms and three 30-year terms, The Dallas Morning News reported Wednesday. The judge said neither he nor jurors liked the idea of prison for Hart but they felt there was no other option.

"In the state of Texas, there isn't a whole lot you can do with somebody like him," Clifford said.

Diagnosed as mentally disabled

Hart has an IQ of 47 and was diagnosed as mentally disabled as a child. He never learned to read or write and speaks unsteadily.

Despite being a target of bullies, he was courteous, well-behaved and earned money by doing chores for neighbors, supporters said. His parents say he'd never acted out sexually.

"He couldn't understand the seriousness of what he did," said his father, Robert Hart. "I never dreamed they would think about sending him to prison. When they said 100 years — it was terror, pure terror, to me."

Jurors said they sent the judge notes during deliberations in February, asking about alternatives to prison, but didn't get a clear answer. They believed the judge would order concurrent sentences, jurors said.

District Attorney Gary Young said he sympathized with Hart's situation but stands by his decision to prosecute on five counts. Prosecutors commonly pursue several charges for a single incident to see which the jury will support.

Diversion program not an option

Young said a diversion program was not an option since the law doesn't allow that for serious felonies.

"I hope people will remember he committed a violent sexual crime against a little boy," he said.

Hart's appellate attorney, David Pearson, said the court-appointed doctor did the bare minimum to assess competency and ran tests geared for mental illness, not mental retardation.

He said an appeal will be filed.