A former Poudre School District paraprofessional was sentenced to more than 10 years in prison and two years in jail after pleading guilty to assault on an at-risk person, harassment and child abuse for hitting disabled students as they rode the school bus.
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Tyler Zanella pleaded guilty on Jan. 29 to seven counts of third-degree assault on an at-risk person, two counts of child abuse and two counts of harassment. The assault charges are felonies while the child abuse and harassment charges are misdemeanors.
Zanella, 37, was arrested in May after police found evidence he hit a non-verbal autistic child on the bus route he worked. Investigators later found bus surveillance video that showed him abusing 10 more children, according to the Fourth Judicial District Attorney’s Office.
Zanella initially faced more than 160 charges of child abuse, harassment and assault. He pleaded guilty to the top charge for each of the 11 victims, the district attorney’s office said in a news release.
In a statement, prosecutor Laura Hinojos said Zanella believes “he did not cause any long-term effects to these children, and much like most things he says – this is a lie.”
Zanella was sentenced to two years in the Larimer County Jail and 10.5 years in the Colorado Department of Corrections on April 12.
Zanella is facing a civil lawsuit by six Poudre School District students and their guardians for the abuse that occurred during the 2022-2023 school year.
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