LIVERMORE — Three former employees connected to two Livermore charter schools charged with counts related to child cruelty have had their cases resolved with little or no jail time.
Defendants Eric Dillie, once a principal at both the now-defunct Livermore Valley Charter Preparatory and Livermore Valley Charter School, took a plea deal this week. Dillie, 38, pleaded no contest to one count of failure to report child abuse — the maximum sentence of which is six months in county jail and a $500 fine, according to court documents.
The charge stemmed from a January 2016 incident in which a foreign exchange student was forced into a car, and when Dillie and then Vice Principal Randy Taylor heard about it, they allegedly “laughed and joked” about it, court documents state.
Dillie will have to serve 30 hours of volunteer work at a nonprofit and complete a mandatory reporter training. If he fails to do so by October, he could serve jail time.
Taylor, 40, who was also charged with one count of misdemeanor failure to report child abuse, also had his case dismissed this week in Alameda County Superior Court.
Dillie was last known to work at Squaw Valley Academy Bay Area, a private school that shared a campus with Livermore Valley Charter Prep at 3090 Independence Drive.
Both of the Livermore charter schools closed last year, after filing for bankruptcy.
Dillie was one of three employees connected to the charter schools that was charged in 2016. As educators, both Dillie and Taylor were mandated reporters and had an obligation to report child abuse or suspected abuse.
According to court documents, on Jan. 28, 2016, Brock Van Wey, 44, of Livermore, who worked for California Preparatory Academies, accused a 16-year-old boy “John Doe” of copying homework at an after-school tutoring session at the charter school. Van Wey allegedly humiliated him in front of the other students, and he got upset, and left.
Van Wey found him behind a grocery store and told him to get into his car and go back to campus.
“Van Wey forcefully grabbed Doe by his arms, picked Doe up and held him in a cradle position,” wrote Livermore Police Officer Cynthia White in court documents.
The student tried to get away but Van Wey’s grip “was too tight.” Van Wey reportedly cursed at the student and shoved him headfirst into the car, White said. The student was then driven back to the school.
Van Wey told Taylor about the incident, who also told Dillie.
“Dillie and Taylor laughed and joked about the abuse incident, discussed the incident with others and minimized what occurred,” White wrote.
Van Wey pleaded no contest to one count of misdemeanor assault and battery, and another count of cruelty to a child by inflicting injury. His case was disposed in September 2017, but court documents were not clear if he received any jail time or other sentencing terms.
California Preparatory Academies, headed by former Tri-Valley Learning Corp CEO Bill Batchelor, is now the Squaw Valley Academy. Tri-Valley Learning Corp is the group that managed the two Livermore charter schools.