Sentence delayed until March 2
December 27, 2006
 The
sentencing hearing for Northwest Counseling and Guidance Clinic and
its former employee Bradley Ridout has been rescheduled. The hearing
was scheduled in Barron County Circuit Court for this Wednesday at 1
p.m. It has been reset to Friday, March 2.
The Frederic Corporation and
Rideout, 29, of 20 E. Evans St., Rice Lake, entered no contest pleas
to homicide and misdemeanor negligent patient abuse, respectively,
on Dec. 6.
They were convicted of the crimes
in connection with the suffocation death of 7-year old Angellika
Arndt. Arndt, of Ladysmith, was a client at the Rice Lake Day
Treatment Center, which was owned by the clinic, when Ridout put her
in a control hold for a behavior issue on May 25. She lost
consciousness, was airlifted to a Minneapolis hospital and died the
following day.
Ridout’s attorney, Timothy O’Brien
of New Richmond, requested the new sentencing date. According to
O’Brien’s Dec. 18 letter to Judge Edward Brunner, O’Brien asked for
a short adjournment of the hearing because he was gathering
materials in preparation for his sentencing argument and had a heavy
court calendar.
The maximum penalty for the
homicide conviction is a fine of up to $100,000. The maximum penalty
for Ridout’s misdemeanor conviction is up to 9 months imprisonment
and/or a fine of up to $10,000.
The clinic provides intensive
intervention and preventative mental health services for youths at
about a dozen more centers in northwest Wisconsin. The Rice Lake Day
Treatment Center closed its doors recently as a result of Angie’s
death.
|
