The former Waukegan middle school substitute teacher who authorities said struck a student in the face last week was charged Wednesday with aggravated battery, according to court records.
Lake County prosecutors lodged five counts of felony aggravated battery against Lamont M. Bankston, 49, of Zion. On Tuesday, he was charged with one count of misdemeanor battery, and was released on his own recognizance.
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Bankston is alleged to have struck a 14-year-old student in the face Oct. 25 at Jack Benny Middle School in Waukegan. The youth also suffered a broken finger in the altercation.
Waukegan police arrested Bankston that day.
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Bankston was a long-term substitute at the school since the summer, but Waukegan School District 60 terminated his assignment on the day of the incident and apologized to the youth.
The student and his mother met members of the media the night of the incident, and the youth said he had not provoked the teacher. The youth, who had swollen, black left eye, said he and another student were in a verbal argument and that Bankston struck him in the face.
The youth and his mother later that night addressed the District 60 Board of Education, with the boy’s mother calling for stricter vetting of substitute teachers. At the meeting, board President Brandon Ewing suggested the district adopt a zero-tolerance policy.
“Either we’re going to have a zero-tolerance policy or we’re not,” Ewing said. “Either it’s OK to put our hands on kids or it’s not. It doesn’t matter the race, gender or ethnicity, either we are going to have zero tolerance or we are not.”
