13WHAM News examined dozens of court documents for this story.

Byron Lawson was known at School #5 as a good disciplinarian. Some students called the teacher’s aide “the enforcer” or “Mr. Boot Camp.”

In December 2000, a student said a scolding turned into something much worse.

A teacher walked in on Lawson and the boy, 10, in a basement bathroom. She did not see anything inappropriate, but reported it to the principal.

When questioned by a district psychologist right after the incident, the boy, classified as emotionally disturbed, did not report anything bad happened. But a month later, he told a social worker that Lawson molested him in the bathroom.

In a statement to police, the boy said Lawson roughed him up and threatened him. “I thought he was going to kill me,” the statement said.

The social worker and a district psychologist said the boy showed classic signs of sexual abuse.

Lawson was arrested and suspended from his job.

Lawson vehemently denied the allegations. He said the boy attacked another student and ran into the basement bathroom. Lawson said he was asked by the teacher to follow him and had been trying to calm the boy down when the teacher walked in.

Lawson had a number of supporters at the school, including special education teacher Tracy Iona.

“He was absolutely railroaded. Byron is a reputable person and has always worked well with kids,” said Iona, who now works on Long Island.
 

The boy’s family hired attorney Van White and filed a lawsuit against the district on the grounds the school should have known Lawson posed a threat. A former principal said the teacher’s aide had previously been warned not to be alone with students, after complaints about gift-giving and inappropriate comments.

The district settled the lawsuit for $67,000 in 2004.   

"I think the district's settlement was a reflection of the fact that their own people, including psychologists, concluding this boy was believable,” said White.
 

A grand jury did not think the boy was believable. In 2001, the grand jury refused to indict Lawson on charges of first-degree sexual abuse and endangering the welfare of a child. The case was dismissed.

Internal Probe

The district, however, would not let Lawson go back to work and he remained on paid suspension.

The district had allowed Lawson to go back to work once before after similar allegations. In 1995, he was arrested for allegedly sexually abusing a boy at his home and the district suspended Lawson. The district attorney declined to take the case to a grand jury. The charges were dropped and Lawson went back to work.

This time, district officials decided Lawson should be fired.

The district’s internal investigation report on Lawson’s conduct concluded, “There is an unacceptable chance that school children may be at risk when left under the supervision, authority, or control of Mr. Lawson.”

“The question is not is there probable cause or proof beyond a reasonable doubt,” said the district’s Chief Legal Counsel Michael Looby. “There are questions of what information do you have and how would a reasonable parent look at that?”
 

District Loses

Lawson was terminated in early 2003. His union, the Rochester Association of Paraprofessionals, filed a grievance demanding his job back.

The case went to arbitration.

Union attorneys said the boy was troubled and a liar. Lawson had gotten favorable reviews from supervisors for several years. Attorneys argued that since the criminal case was dropped, Lawson should be reinstated.

Arbitrator Dennis Campagna discounted the boy’s testimony. Like the grand jury, he found no evidence to support the sexual abuse allegation.

In April 2005, the arbitrator awarded Lawson his job back plus back pay.

"What might possibly happen if, God forbid, something should happen to another child while this employee is there?" White said.

Lawson would not agree to an on-camera interview. Over the phone, Lawson said the district ruined his reputation and prevented him from achieving his dream of becoming a teacher.
 
“I was devastated,” he said.

The district asked a State Supreme Court judge to overturn the arbitrator’s ruling. Late last year, Justice Thomas Stander upheld the arbitrator’s award.

The district is appealing the decision. A hearing is scheduled before the New York State Appellate Division on October 25.

Looby said it is impossible to determine how much money the district has spent on the six-year legal battle, because in-house lawyers handled many facets of the case. He said the district has spent at least $29,000 on the outside firm handling the appeal.

Lawson said he has moved on with his life.
 
When asked if he still wants his job back after all this time, he replied, “I want all of it, because of what they did to me.”