A federal jury on Wednesday awarded $750,000 to the family of a boy beaten with leather belts in a Chicago Public School in 2018.
Jo’maury Champ was 9 years old and in the fourth grade when he was whipped with belts inside a bathroom at George W. Tilton Elementary School in West Garfield Park, according to the lawsuit, which was filed by his mother, Asia Gaines.
The boy’s teacher, Kristen Haynes, had arranged for her friend, Juanita Tyler, to come to the school to “discipline” Jo’maury on Sept. 20, 2018, according to the lawsuit. Tyler also was an estranged relative of Jomaury whom he did not know.
Tyler slapped the boy twice on the mouth, then she and Haynes carried him to a bathroom where Tyler struck the boy with a pair of leather belts 20 to 30 times, according to the lawsuit.
Following a six-day trial, the jury in the federal lawsuit deliberated for about four and a half hours and ordered the Chicago Board of Education to pay Jo’maury’s family $750,000, lawyers for the boy’s family said.
The boy’s lawyers also said Jo’maury has dealt with post-traumatic stress since the incident.
In separate criminal cases, Tyler was found guilty in 2020 of domestic battery, and Haynes was acquitted of battery and child endangerment.
Haynes taught at the school for 15 years and was fired after the incident became public.