DAYTON — The former Dayton Public Schools employee who was caught on video hitting a nonverbal student and causing him to fall to the ground appeared in court Thursday.
Darrick Sorrells, 56, of Dayton, appeared in Montgomery County Common Pleas Court for his arraignment today. There, he pleaded not guilty to one count of assault and two counts of endangering children, according to court records.
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As News Center 7 previously reported, the charges stem from the Aug. 21 surveillance video which caught Sorrells, who was an employee at Rosa Parks Early Learning Center at the time, taking care of a 4-year-old special-needs child, previously identified by his parents as Braylen Tootle.
Sorrells was pulling the child in a wagon when Braylen got out of the wagon and took off running. As News Center 7 previously reported, the video showed Sorrells chasing after Braylen. When he caught up to him, Sorrells was seen hitting the child on the head and knocking him down.
Video showed Sorrells picking Braylen up by the ankles and carrying him upside down back down the hallway.
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Another employee at the school saw the incident and took the child from Sorrells, according to the prosecutor’s office.
“The video of this incident is disturbing and difficult to watch. It has generated a lot of outrage, both locally and nationally. Parents expect and deserve better from caretakers and should have confidence their children are safe from abuse when at school,” Prosecutor Mat Heck, Jr. previously said.
After being placed on administrative leave, Sorrells “resigned in lieu of termination.”