Ex-aide gets probation for excessive discipline of mentally challenged students

Staff report

YOUNGSTOWN

A former Leonard Kirtz School aide was sentenced to one year of probation for excessively disciplining two students who are mentally challenged.

Judge R. Scott Krichbaum of Mahoning County Common Pleas Court imposed the sentence Wednesday on Audrey Johntony, 34, of North Beverly Avenue, Austintown, who pleaded guilty to two misdemeanor counts of child endangering.

She was accused of grabbing the 9-year-old’s hand and slapping him in the face three times using his own hand.

Johntony grabbed the 7-year-old’s arm and forced his head down onto a table, the prosecutor’s office said.

Read more about the case in Thursday's Vindicator or on Vindy.com.