- Angela George, a special education teacher, pleaded no contest to hitting a first grader.
- Her charge was reduced from a felony to a misdemeanor with a plea deal, and the plea in abeyance terms have already been met so the case will be dismissed.
HEBER — A special education teacher accused of hitting a first-grader in her class has pleaded no contest, admitting that there is evidence she caused injury to the disabled student.
Angela George, 51, pleaded no contest on May 27 as part of a plea in abeyance that reduced her charge, abuse or neglect of a child with a disability, from a third-degree felony to a class A misdemeanor.
Prosecutors agreed to recommend the 12-month plea in abeyance period begin on March 28, 2024, the date of the allegations, meaning her case will be dismissed immediately. George also submitted proof that she completed a thinking errors course and an anger management course, also requirements outlined in her plea deal.
George's case was scheduled for a jury trial this month but did not go forward because of the plea deal.
Deputy Wasatch County attorney McKay King told the judge the family of the Midway Elementary School student approved the plea deal before it was accepted by the court.
According to charging documents the student, then 7, reported to a teacher's aide that George had hit him in his face; the student was then taken to the nurse's office and the injury was photographed. The principal reported the incident to officers.
In an interview with the Wasatch County Children's Justice Center, the student said that during indoor recess, he was studying sight words but "wasn't being good enough" for George, who hit him twice and put him in time-out, charges said. The boy reported that George did not say anything after smacking him, and he felt "not good."
At the time, George was the only adult in the classroom as the aides were with students outside. Charging documents said an aide noticed a "red welt" above the boy's eyebrow.
That same day, multiple aides saw another student hit the boy on the head, and George "began to 'freak out' and told (one of the aides) to document it."
Two aides in the class reported meeting with the Midway Elementary School's principal to express worries about George; one reported she was a "bully" the day before the alleged incident and the other that she had pushed and yanked children.
George was placed on administrative leave after the incident, but Utah's transparency website shows she is still being paid and has a current educator's license.
