CHICAGO — A federal jury has ordered the Chicago Board of Education to pay $750,000 to the family of a child who was beaten in a Chicago Public School in late 2018.
The lawsuit was filed by Asia Gaines, the mother of “J.C.,” who was a student at George W. Tilton Elementary School in West Garfield Park when the beating occurred in September of 2018, according to a spokesperson from the Chicago law firm Loevy & Loevy.
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According to the lawsuit, “J.C.” was only nine years old when his homeroom teacher, Kristen Haynes, arranged for her friend, Juanita Tyler, to come to the school to discipline the child.
The family’s lawyers said Tyler was an estranged relative of J.C.’s father, but the child did not know her personally. They added that Tyler had no authority to be on school grounds and had not sought permission from the child’s parents or informed them about the incident.
“We are pleased and relieved that this jury saw through the defendants’ ever-changing story and the Board of Education’s attempt to avoid responsibility for the actions of its employee,” said Al Hofeld, Jr., of the Law Offices of Al Hofeld, Jr. LLC.
Haynes, who had taught at the school for 15 years, was dismissed from her teaching position because of the incident.
In 2020, during a criminal trial, Tyler was found guilty of domestic battery, but Haynes was acquitted of battery and child endangerment.
On Wednesday, the jury found both Haynes and Tyler liable for the pain and the post-traumatic stress J.C. suffered because of the incident.
During testimony this week, Haynes was described as the disciplinarian of the school and was said to have kept two adult-sized leather belts in her classroom, which were known to students as “Mr. Brown” and “Mr. Black.”
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“The Board of Education knows full well what Kristen Haynes did to J.C.,” said Julia Rickert, of Loevy & Loevy. “Its attorney’s argument to the jury today that such behavior could never happen in a CPS school was disingenuous and a betrayal of the public trust.”
Wednesday’s decision was handed down after six days of testimony and four and half hours of deliberation by a federal jury.
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