Former paraprofessional won't be charged - KTTC Rochester, Austin, Mason City News, Weather and Sports

ROCHESTER, Minn. (KTTC) -- Olmsted County Attorney Mark Ostrem has announced his office will not file criminal charges against the Rochester man accused of abusing a Rochester student with autism.

When video surfaced of the Rochester Century High School employee pushing the boy into a window in December, many people were outraged.

Raymond Paske was accused of malicious punishment by the mother of the teenager shown in the video.

Paske was demoted by the school district to an entry-level position in what Superintendent Michael Munoz called a "last chance agreement" and earlier had been suspended for five days without pay while school officials had investigated what happened.

Now, after studying the video footage, pouring over police interviews and doing follow-up interviews, County Attorney Mark Ostrem has decided that criminal charges will not be filed against Paske.

Ostrem said though the video appears to show "an inappropriate level of physical interaction with the student," it does not amount to what is considered malicious punishment under the law.

He said there's no evidence to prove criminal conduct.

Paske has not yet returned our calls for comment but his daughter has been adamant in defense of her father, saying he has helped the autistic kids many times with their activities and is a wonderful father.