The man was given fines and probation for physically abusing a female resident at a state-contracted home for troubled youth.
By WILLIAM R. LEVESQUE
Published August 6, 2003
LARGO - A former Florida Youth Academy counselor charged with beating a 16-year-old resident of the private Largo facility has pleaded guilty to a child abuse charge.
Betherea Anthony Stokes was sentenced on Monday to three years' probation and ordered to pay $1,325 in court costs, fines and investigative costs after he entered a plea to the lone child abuse charge. A judge withheld a formal finding of guilt.
Stokes, 36, and his defense attorney could not be reached for comment on Tuesday. A prosecutor with knowledge of the case also could not be reached.
According to police reports, Stokes was involved in a "physical takedown" on March 6, during which Stokes put his knee in a female resident's back. One report described how the victim was taken to a room where she was punched in the legs while a second academy employee, Andy Lewis, watched.
Lewis, who is charged with child neglect for failing to stop the alleged abuse, is scheduled for a pretrial hearing on Aug. 18.
The girl's grandmother previously has said in an interview that she became deeply disturbed when she discovered days later that her granddaughter's arms and legs were covered with bruises.
The family could not be reached for comment on Tuesday.
The Florida Department of Juvenile Justice contracts with the academy to provide a residential treatment program for troubled youths up to age 18. The academy has been under state contract to provide rehabilitation to troubled youngsters for the past three years.
The arrests came after complaints by residents at the facility who said they were punched and kicked by staffers - perhaps as a rite of passage for completing the program, police said.
Lewis and Stokes were both fired after the incident.
