CLARKSVILLE, TN (CLARKSVILLE NOW) –  A former Oak Plains Academy staff member has been arrested on a charge of child abuse.

On May 28, William Sturgill, 43, was involved in an argument with a 10-year-old boy, according to an arrest warrant obtained by Clarksville Now. The dispute escalated, and Sturgill grabbed the boy by his left ankle and slung him across the room.

Sturgill was arrested on Aug. 6 and charged with one count of child abuse or endangerment.

Diagnosis of autism, ADHD, DMDD

The boy’s mother, Katelyn Swainson, told Clarksville Now her son was admitted Feb. 11 to Oak Plains, a residential treatment facility in Ashland City for children struggling with behavioral challenges.

Swainson explained that her son was staying at Oak Plains to help with behavioral issues that stemmed from autism, ADHD and disruptive mood dysregulation disorder (DMDD). Clarksville Now is not naming the child to protect his future privacy.

“He was making progress there,” Swainson said. “We were seeing that he was going down the right path, but then this happened and kind of set us all back.”

Child slung across dayroom by ankle

On May 28, Swainson said, she got a call from her son who told her that Sturgill “yeeted me off the couch so fast like Superman,” saying the dispute started over a blanket. The incident was witnessed by another staff member and was captured on video, according to the arrest warrant.

“Mr. Sturgill, instead of walking up to my child and deescalating him like he’s trained to do, walked up to him and was screaming and pointing in his face,” Swainson said. “My son ran from him, like fight or flight.”

Swainson, who watched the video, said her son ran into the bathroom and Sturgill followed. For a moment, they are off camera, but then her son came “stumbling out of the bathroom.”

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Her son ran from Sturgill again and into the dayroom. Sturgill pursued the boy and threw him onto the couch. Swainson said her son, instead of running again, went into self-defense. The boy stood up to smack Sturgill, who shoved him back onto the couch.

According to Swainson, after the second time her son was shoved, he kicked Sturgill “straight in between his legs.” “That’s when Mr. Sturgill reacted by grabbing him by his ankles,” Swainson said. “And I mean he (Sturgill) pulled him off the couch so hard and so fast that his head smacked on the floor first.”

According to the arrest warrant, the boy sustained bruising to his left wrist and shoulder.

Employment terminated, arrested

Swainson said that about two to three days after she spoke with her son’s doctor and therapist at the facility, Oak Plains called her back to inform her that after reviewing video footage from the incident, Sturgill’s employment was terminated.

Swainson contacted Clarksville Police. On Aug. 6, Sturgill was arrested on one count of child abuse or endangerment. He is scheduled to appear in court on Dec. 15 at the Montgomery County Courts Center.

Clarksville Now has reached out to Oak Plains Academy for comment.

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