A former Washtenaw Intermediate School District aide accused of slapping a special education student pleaded no contest today to a misdemeanor charge of assault.

Michael Beasley, who already has been convicted of another misdemeanor in a related case, will be sentenced on Oct. 4.

Michael Beasley

In exchange for the no contest plea - which doesn’t admit guilt but is treated as a guilty plea for purposes of sentencing - prosecutors dropped felony charges against Beasley.

Beasley was charged earlier this year in separate cases involving two students. In each case, prosecutors charged Beasley with both a felony and a misdemeanor. He's accused of striking a 12-year-old across the face and pinching another 12-year-old student.

When the incidents were first reported to the WISD leadership, Beasley was cleared of the charges. But parents went to police, and prosecutors charged Beasley.

WISD administrators fired Beasley, saying he lied to them.

Several WISD administrators resigned or were reassigned as part of the WISD’s investigation into the case.

The case in which Beasley was accused of striking the child went to trial in December 2009. However, a mistrial was ordered after Amy Carns, the teacher who ran the classroom where Beasley worked, testified Beasley had been fired for the incident. Judge David Swartz had earlier ruled that couldn’t be brought up at trial.

Before a mistrial was declared, the parents of two students testified briefly about their children’s disabilities. One mom broke down in tears as she described how raising her middle-school aged child is like raising a toddler.

Carns was the teacher in a special education classroom run by the WISD, and housed in Ann Arbor’s Scarlett Middle School during the 2008-09 school year. It was her first year in that classroom, and she took a new job after the school year.

Carns testified she saw Beasley hit students on several occasions.

During his cross-examination during that trial, Beasley's attorney, Doug Mullkoff, tried to get Carns to admit she was looking for a reason to get rid of Beasley and had a personality conflict with him. Beasley had been in the same classroom the previous year and had more than a decade of experience working as a teacher assistant, Mullkoff said.

The criminal cases weren't the only court action surrounding the incident.

In May, Beasley filed a federal lawsuit against the WISD, alleging violations of civil rights.

In the lawsuit, Beasley alleges Carns made “frequent, unsolicited and unwelcome comments and questions to (Beasley) regarding her sex life, plaintiff’s sex life and sexual acts.” The lawsuit also claims Carns “made derogatory comments regarding Indians in plaintiff’s presence. When she made these comments, the classroom supervisor was aware that plaintiff is an Indian.” 

The lawsuit said he made complaints about her to his supervisors but was ignored.

Court records show Beasley dropped that lawsuit in August; no reason was listed in court records.

David Jesse covers higher education for AnnArbor.comn He can be reached at davidjesse@annarbor.com or at 734-623-2534.