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Former Fitch aide acquitted of assault charges
By ROBERT CONNELLY
AUSTINTOWN
A former Austintown Fitch High School aide accused of assaulting a special-needs student was found not guilty Thursday.
According to online court documents, Lisa Schriner, 49, was acquitted on endangering children and assault charges by Judge David A. D’Apolito of Mahoning County Area Court in the township. Schriner had been a Fitch aide employed through the Mahoning County Educational Service Center.
Schriner’s bench trial on the two charges before Judge D’Apolito was Sept. 17.
The ruling detailed the event that happened April 9. The 15-year-old Fitch student, who has autism and Down syndrome, ran out of the high-school building and toward the bus area, and Schriner gave chase to explain to the student he could not run to the buses because it was unsafe.
After talking, the verbal discussion escalated and became physical with the student striking Schriner with his hand. Schriner grabbed the student by his arm and threatened to call the boy’s mother. The boy became unresponsive at this point, and Schriner grabbed the boy’s face to get his attention, and he head-butted her and she pushed him back to get some distance between them. She then gave more verbal instructions.
“The court finds that at no time did the defendant knowingly cause or attempt to cause physical harm to the student,” Judge D’Apolito wrote. “The court finds that the entire incident occurred as a result of the defendant attempting to protect the safety of the student.”
When reached by phone Thursday night, Schriner’s defense lawyer Harry DePietro said he had not been notified of the judge’s verdict, but added, “Justice was served. Our position has always been that she did not act in a criminal way. She protected other children from that child’s own act.”
Police reports associated with the event noted that witnesses said Schriner “roughed up” the student.