Carer cleared of assaulting 12-year-old
Julie Allen, 56, of West Cliff Park Drive, Dawlish, denied a charge of assaulting by beating the boy, who cannot be named for legal reasons.
She admitted she had 'tweaked' the hair of the child, who has severe learning difficulties, to make him release his hold but said she had no intention to harm the boy.
She was found not guilty by Torbay magistrates after a trial lasting half a day. She had admitted intervening on February 27 after the child had grabbed the hair of one of her colleagues at the school and refused to let go.
After she had twice tried prising the boy's fingers from the hair and tickling him, she had grasped a small portion of the boy's hair and tweaked it. Ms Allen told the court: "With the thumb and forefinger, I took a bit of hair and said 'do you like having your hair pulled?'"
She added: "I hoped he would realise he was pulling someone's hair and he might associate that with what I had done to him, that it wasn't a nice association and he would stop doing it.
"I had tried the approved techniques to get him to release, but we are taught to use our initiative.
"And we were told if we chose other methods, we have to be prepared to defend ourselves in court and that is what I am doing."
Chairman of the bench Justine Merry said: "The force you used was reasonable and we find you not guilty."
Ms Allen burst into tears after the verdict was announced and she was allowed to leave the dock.
