Judge: Teacher's Actions Justified
By: Marty Kasper
Updated: October 18, 2012
ROCKFORD - It started with a request to
put a phone away, followed by orders to go to the administration office. But ended with a sophomore high school student
lying on the ground, having a seizure after being slammed by a teacher
On Thursday a judge found Aaron Oetting, a former
"I am so happy for my client that he was found
not guilty," said Oetting's defense attorney Daniel Hofmann. "He's a good decent guy."
But not everyone's happy, "it looked like this
man just went out to attack my son," said Angelique King, who is the
mother of the 15-year-old boy involved in the altercation.
Even though King admits her son should have been more
responsible and not disobeyed orders to put his phone away.
"He has a responsibility as far as not wearing a
hat and not having his phone, and him being where he's suppose to be, those are
all his responsibilities," said King.
The ruling came after a judge found Oetting's actions
were justified when he was restraining a 15-year-old student last October for
not following his orders.
"We never should have had to go through this," said
Hofmann. "This is a completely
misdirected prosecution."
Hofmann thinks that because he believes
"The video evidence alone was extremely
compelling," said Bruscato. Who stands
by his decision to go to trail and disagrees with the verdict.
"I believe there was compelling evidence to not
only support the charging decision, but to support a conviction," said
Bruscato.
Still, Hofmann says he thinks the trial was a waste
of resources.
"I am very troubled by this prosecution, it's
just horrible," said Hofmann. He went
on to say he questions Bruscato's priorities.
"You really got to wonder if the state's
attorney has the backs of the licensed professionals," said Hofmann.
But Bruscato says he's loyalty lies with all of the
public, and felt compelled to pursue charges because of the evidence presented.
"Having the responsibility to seek justice on
behalf of any victim," said Bruscato.
Oetting has been let go by the
Oetting isn't in the clear yet, his attorney says he is still being
investigated by the Department of Children and Family Services.
