By Joe Johnson
More than a year after she was arrested, a former Clarke County School District bus monitor may soon be standing trial for allegedly assaulting two elementary school students, according to court records,
Holly Lynn Sewell, 55, of Sycamore Drive was charged with two counts each of simple battery and disorderly conduct, according to an accusation filed in December 2018 in State Court by Athens-Clarke County Solicitor General C.R. Chisholm.
The alleged incident occurred Nov. 15, 2018 in a stationary bus at Winterville Elementary School, where Sewell aggressively "reacted to student behavior," according to a joint statement by county police and school district officials.
All students on the bus were special needs who were on their way to satellite classes, officials said.
According to the accusation, Sewell allegedly grabbed one boy and threw him into a bus seat where she held the boy's head down while yelling at him, according to the accusation
The bus monitor also grabbed another boy by the neck while yelling at him, the accusation stated.
She was subsequently fired by the school district.
In October 2019, Sewell filed a motion asserting immunity from prosecution in which she claimed that her actions were justified because she was “reasonably defending herself” from the victims in her capacity as a county school bus monitor.
The motion noted that there were several incidents in which the students spit in Sewell’s face and that she “provided many observation reports and incident reports on the victim.”
State Court Judge Charles Auslander III denied the motion in an order dated Nov. 12, ruling that Sewell did not prove that her conduct toward the students was justified.
The judge scheduled Sewell’s trial for May 18.
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