Former elementary school lunch lady taken to jail for paying kids $1 to beat up classmate | MLive.com

Former elementary school lunch lady taken to jail for paying kids $1 to beat up classmate | MLive.com



GRAND RAPIDS, MI — The former Campus Elementary lunchroom aide who pleaded guilty to paying $1 to have a fourth-grader beaten up by classmates was sentenced Monday, March 17, to seven days in jail, fined and put on probation.
Brooke-Wilson Johnson, 19, of Grand Rapids, was taken to the Kent County Jail after being sentenced for the misdemeanor offense of aiding and abetting delinquent acts by Kent County District Judge Donald Passenger. She made no statement regarding the Oct. 7, 2013, incident, but acknowledged she understood and agreed to the terms of her probation.
In addition the seven days in jail, during which she is credited for one day served, she was fined $1,125 and put on probation for 12 months. The $200 bond paid in December following her arrest is to be subtracted from the fine, leaving her a balance of $925 to be made in payments beginning Friday, April 4.
"What makes your case unique is, of course, you are entrusted with the care of other people's children and that is significant," Passenger told Wilson-Johnson. "In this case, the conduct is particularly egregious, and I think you get that with hindsight."
"I think seven days in jail is probably enough to have the impact that we want."
Given she had no prior record, Passenger said it was appropriate to sentence Wilson-Johnson under the Holmes Youthful Trainee Act. Charles Boekeloo, Wilson-Johnson's attorney, said that means her records will be sealed and, if she successfully completes her probation, the charge will be dropped.
"It is a special status for first-time offenders between the ages of 17 and 21," said Boekeloo. Wilson-Johnson was 18 at the time of the incident. "If she completes her probation satisfactorily, there never will be a conviction."
The terms of the probation include monthly visits with her probation officer, no use of alcohol, marijuana, illegal or prescription drugs, no contact with the victim, effort to maintain employment and no threatening or intimidating behavior. Boekeloo said the terms are standard.
Wilson-Johnson initially denied the allegations she offered $1 to three students to beat up a 9-year-old child in retaliation for him disobeying her instructions in the cafeteria and calling her a "pregnant b----.," before pleading guilty Feb. 14.
Boekeloo told Passenger it was admittedly a "poor response" to being called a name and described the incident as "impulsive" but said the victim did not suffer a physical injury. He cited a letter sent home by Grand Rapids Public Schools to school families.
The victim, who was not present in court with his family, said he was pushed, bumped, thrown out of a seat, and had his food taken, according to Grand Rapids Schools public safety office records.
"I believe this will teach her a lesson," said Stacy McLain, the victim's mother. "I would have been happier if she was also required to take parenting and anger management classes because people need more than punishment."
The students involved — two 9-year-old boys and a 10-year-old girl — said they were each paid $1, according to police reports. However, a resource teacher, Renee Lance, only saw Wilson-Johnson give one student $1 in the cafeteria.
Wilson-Johnson, who began working at Campus Elementary in 2013 as a contracted employee through West Michigan Janitorial Service, was fired in October after the incident. She has declined comment throughout the legal proceedings.

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