A District 150 employee has been arrested for battery following an incident last week at Greeley Alternative School.
Benjamin L. Thornton, 26, was arrested Monday by Peoria police and given a notice to appear in court for battery. He has not been formally charged in court for the misdemeanor.
Police said witnesses saw Thornton put his hands on a student and force him to the ground in a classroom last Thursday. The age of the student was not known.
District 150 officials said Thornton was not working in any of its schools on Tuesday but did not comment on the status of his employment with the district. Thornton, a special education attendant who works one-on-one with a student at Greeley, has worked for the district for about two years.
On Monday, interim Superintendent Norm Durflinger said an employee was being investigated for shoving and hitting a student last week. Durflinger said the incident took place last Thursday in a classroom, but district officials didn’t become aware of it until Monday.
Durflinger said students and two adults saw the incident at Greeley, 919 NE Jefferson Ave. Durflinger said the student was not in special education. Durflinger said there were “no injuries we could see.”
District 150 classifies Greeley as an “alternative school” or “regional safe school” serving grades six through 12.
The school admits students who have been expelled from a Peoria County school, are in danger of expulsion because of a history of suspensions, and students placed there for an individualized education program or by a director of student affairs, the district said.
Ryan Ori can be reached at 686-3264 or [email protected]. Dave Haney contributed to this report.
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