NOT GUILTY: Amundson acquitted of child abuse-recklessly causing harm

By Ted Pennekamp

Bluff View Principal Aaron Amundson was found not guilty by a 12-person jury about a half hour after his trial ended Thursday morning in Crawford County Circuit Court. Amundson had been charged with one count of child abuse-recklessly causing harm for applying a gum and wax remover to a 14-year-old boy’s hand and causing a burn.

Upon hearing the verdict, many in the crowd jumped up and let out a big cheer. Shortly thereafter, Amundson walked through his throng of supporters receiving and giving many hugs. Tears of joy flowed from a few women and one wished him a happy birthday. On Thursday, Amundson turned 44 and the verdict is sure to have made his birthday brighter.

“I would like to give thanks for all the support I received from family, friends, the school board, the administration and staff,” said Amundson in an interview with the Courier Press shortly after being congratulated by those in the crowd. “I also want to apologize for my mistake and I intend and plan to atone for that and to continue the excellence that we have at Bluff View.”

Amundson was the only witness on Thursday and admitted he made a mistake in applying the chemical to the boy’s hand without taking time to read the label. He said he only looked at the can for about one or two seconds while trying to find caustic or warning symbols and saw none.

“It was just foolish and I was moving too quickly,” he said. “I apologize to the family, the community and the jury. If I’d taken just 10 or even 5 seconds, nobody would have to be here today. It was stupid.”

A little later in his testimony, Amundson said, “I beat myself up over the several different ways I could have done better. I own my mistakes. I screwed up.”

Prior to closing arguments by the attorneys, Judge Lynn Rider said the state had to prove that Amundson caused bodily harm, that his recklessness caused the bodily harm through a conscious disregard for the safety of the student, and that the student was under the age of 18.

Throughout the trial on Wednesday and Thursday, various witnesses said the child was burned on his hand. A photo of the hand was introduced into evidence on Wednesday. The defense also admitted on Wednesday and Thursday that Amundson had applied the chemical that caused the burn. Also, the student is under the age of 18. So, the only dispute was whether Amundson acted with recklessness and a conscious disregard for the child’s safety, or did he make a mistake by being negligent in not reading the label on the can.

In her closing argument, District Attorney Amy Forehand told the jury that they should judge Amundson’s conduct, not his character. She also said the state did not need to prove that Amundson was aware that his actions were causing harm.

“His conduct created a situation of unreasonable risk and a conscious disregard for safety,” she said. Forehand said Amundson testified that he knew that some industrial chemicals can cause harm and that he was not familiar with the chemicals in the janitor’s closet where he attempted to remove a profanity from the boy’s hand. Yet, she said, he applied the chemical anyway. She also said the front and back of the can say, “Danger” on the labels. The front label says in part, “Keep out of reach of children. Danger. Extremely flammable liquid and vapor. Causes eye and skin burns (thermal). May be harmful if inhaled. Contents under pressure.”

“I don’t know how more obvious the danger can be,” said Forehand. “Saying (to the student), ‘Tell me if it hurts,’ is too late. He didn’t care enough to take 10 seconds to read the label on the can.”

Forehand also noted that Amundson didn’t call the parents after seeing the injury the next day. 

In his closing argument, defense attorney Corey Chirafisi said the state had to prove that Amundson was aware that the student’s safety was in danger and that he ignored or disregarded it.

“Conscious is awareness,” he said. “How can you disregard it if you don’t know about it. This was a mistake. People make mistakes. We haven’t criminalized all mistakes.”

Chirafisi said that if Amundson had disregard for the child’s safety, he wouldn’t have started off by using just water and a scrubbing pad in an attempt to remove the profanity. 

The student had testified on Wednesday that the chemical stung but he didn’t say anything to Amundson because he wanted to be tough. He said he made a facial expression when the chemical was applied. Amundson testified that he didn’t see the facial expression because he was concentrating on the boy’s hand.

“This case is about medical bills and pain and suffering,” said Chirafisi in noting that a civil lawsuit for negligence might be appropriate. On several occasions throughout the trial, Chirafisi said that a Notice of Claim has been filed, and that a Notice of Claim is the first step in filing a civil lawsuit. As of Thursday, no lawsuit had been filed.

Chirafisi also asked what a reasonable person would do in Amundson’s situation on the day of the incident.

“Was it, in the grand scheme of screw-ups, a big one? If you find that it was a mistake, you must find him not guilty,” he said.

In Forehand’s rebuttal, she said that nobody believes that Amundson intentionally set out to hurt the boy. However, she said the jury is not supposed to debate what Amundson’s intent was and that intent has nothing to do with the case. That is why, she said, Amundson was charged with recklessly causing harm, not intentionally causing harm.

“It has nothing to do with intention,” she said. “It has to do with his conduct. He demonstrated a conscious disregard. A mistake doesn’t mean it’s not criminal. His conduct showed us he didn’t care for Talmadge’s (the student’s) safety.”

Amundson had faced up to 3.5 years of imprisonment and a $10,000 fine if convicted.

Well wishers continued to greet him for some time following Thursday morning’s not guilty verdict.