Fmr. Lincoln Hills youth counselor convicted of child abuse of incarcerated youth, pleads no contest

MERRILL, Wis. (WSAW) – A former youth counselor at Lincoln Hills/Copper Lake Schools was convicted Friday of abusing a girl held at the facility. The judge accepted a deal that allows 44-year-old Evan White to potentially avoid conviction if he abides by his bail conditions.

White pleaded no contest, which neither admits his guilt nor denies the allegations against him. Nevertheless, Judge Galen Bayne-Allison accepted this plea and found him guilty of child abuse with intentional harm. His second charge, felony aggravated assault, was dismissed but may be taken into consideration in sentencing.

In addition to the dismissal of the second charge, part of the agreement requires White to abide by his bond conditions for three years. If he does so, the first charge will also be dismissed. The conditions of his bond include that he commit no further crimes, have current contact information, have no contact with the victim, write a formal letter of apology and comply with anger management therapy, an assessment and follow-up recommendations. If he were to commit any further offenses it would be in breach of his bond conditions and the offense would be treated as a felony.

It was mentioned in court that White resigned from LHS/CLS because of the incident. He also had no criminal record, including traffic violations. White was also retired from the Army National Guard. White said he had been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder. All of these factors were considered when Judge Bayne-Allison decided whether to accept the plea agreement rather than pursue the case through the criminal process.

The incident occurred in April. According to the criminal complaint, the girl refused to come to outdoor recreation and even threw a rock at a window in protest. White asked her to come in and said he would have to stop her if she didn’t listen. Eventually he held her back and accompanied her. She physically resisted him, insulted him and spat in his face. She told investigators that White became angry and threw her against the wall and onto the floor, hitting her head.

Court documents show she was taken to Aspirus, where medical staff applied glue to her injured eye and gave her Tylenol.

The Wisconsin Department of Corrections confirmed that White resigned from his position on June 3.

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