Lake County special ed staffer charged with reckless conduct

A former Special Education District of Lake County paraprofessional has been arrested on six counts of reckless conduct after allegations surfaced he used excessive force on students at Gages Lake School, according to the Lake County Sheriff ’s Office.

Nicholas Izquierdo, 30, of Waukegan, faces six Class A misdemeanor charges of reckless conduct after he was taken into custody at a Vernon Hills business Friday afternoon, according to the sheriff’s office statement. Class A misdemeanors are punishable by up to a year in jail, with probation also an option.

According to the statement, the sheriff’s office and Lake County State’s Attorney Michael Nerheim were in the process of announcing that a $50,000 arrest warrant had been issued for Izuierdo when the Sheriff’s Office Warrants Team arrested him at about noon Friday.

The statement added that Izquierdo faces the charges for allegedly causing minor injuries to four students while working at the SEDOL facility.

Izquierdo was in custody of the Lake County jail Friday afternoon with a hearing pending in bond court, officials said.

SEDOL describes Gages Lake school as a public elementary therapeutic day school for early childhood through sixth-grade students who have significant emotional and behavioral needs. As a result, students attending the school routinely suffer from emotional outbursts, which can lead to students becoming combative with teachers, according to the sheriff ’s release.

Staff members are trained to use approved de-escalation strategies up to and including a “physical restraint” hold when necessary to protect themselves and the students.

The parents of a 7-yearold child contacted the sheriff ’s office on May 19 to report they believed their child was injured by

Izquierdo at Gages Lake School in the 1800 block of Gages Lake Road, where the child was enrolled as a student.

An investigation was launched into the allegations by the sheriff ’s Criminal Investigations Division, the state’s attorney’s office and Illinois Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS).

SEDOL has been cooperative throughout the investigation, according to the sheriff ’s statement.

Officials said that during the course of the investigation, several more incidents were identified through a review of video surveillance at the facility. Additional parents also came forward alleging their children were handled excessively by Izquierdo.

All children involved in these incidents were interviewed at the Lake County Children’s Advocacy Center, and hours of video surveillance were reviewed by sheriff’s office detectives and the state’s attorney’s office, according to the release.