Erie County District Attorney John J. Flynn announces that 34-year-old Anthony Lanier of Buffalo has been sentenced by Acting Erie County Court Judge James A. W. McLeod to 60 days in jail and 3 years probation.

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.

Lanier pleaded guilty to one count of Attempted Endangering the Welfare of an Incompetent Person, a Class “A” misdemeanor, on Tuesday, April 23, 2019.

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.