A Beach Park man was sentenced Thursday to 6 months in a work release program after he admitted breaking a boy’s arm in March.
Scott Spoerl, 37, of the 12800 block of West Eastwood Road pleaded guilty to attempted aggravated battery of a child in Lake County Circuit Court. During a quarrel, he pulled an 11-year-old’s arm behind his back, causing it to break, said Assistant State’s Atty. Christopher Stride.
Spoerl lived with the boy’s mother and originally was charged with aggravated battery of a child, a felony that would have sent him to prison if he had been convicted, Stride said.
But in a plea agreement accepted by Circuit Judge Mary Schostok, the charge was reduced so Spoerl could serve time in Lake County Jail on work release, allowing him to keep his job and attend counseling, authorities said. Stride said the boy’s mother favored reducing the charge.
After he is released from jail, Spoerl will be on probation for 36 months.
