Erie County District Attorney John J. Flynn announces that 34-year-old Anthony Lanier of Buffalo pleaded guilty before Acting Erie County Court Judge James A. W. McLeod to one count of Attempted Endangering the Welfare of an Incompetent Person, a Class “A” misdemeanor. The defendant pleaded guilty on Tuesday, April 23, 2019.

The defendant admitted that on December 11, 2018, while working as a bus aide for Western New York Bus Co., he failed to appropriately supervise a 9-year-old autistic child, and struck the male student in the face with the child’s shoe. As a result, the child suffered an abrasion on his face.

The defendant has since been terminated from his position.

He faces a maximum of 1 year in jail when he is sentenced on Monday, July 8, 2019 at 9:30 a.m. He was released on his own recognizance.

DA Flynn commends the Cheektowaga Police Department for their work in the investigation, including Detective Terrence Griffin.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant District Attorney Cathleen A. Roemer of the DA’s Special Victims Bureau.