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CHARLESTON, W.Va. — A second former teacher’s aide at Horace Mann Middle School in Charleston will head to jail next month for abusing students in a special needs classroom.
Walter Pannell, 72, was sentenced in Kanawha County Circuit Court to one year in jail, two years of supervised probation with the possible penalty of one year if that probation is violated.
Former aide James Lynch, who also worked at Horace Mann, was sentenced to two years in jail last month.
Pannell previously pleaded guilty in May to four counts of misdemeanor battery against two students identified by the court as N.H. and T.R. The abuse happened in March and April 2021 and was captured on classroom video. Pannell was arrested in May 2021.