Girl spanked by Roger Jackson to receive $80,000 settlement

May 16--An east Macon youth center's insurance company has agreed to pay an 8-year-old girl $80,000 to settle a lawsuit her mother filed last year after the girl was spanked.

Former NFL player Roger Jackson, director of the Motivating Youth Foundation's after-school program on Main Street, has admitted using a belt to discipline the girl on April 22, 2015.

Motivating Youth was closed after the incident, but it was allowed to reopen after officials signed a consent agreement in July, agreeing to certain conditions and further monitoring. The state limited Jackson's presence at the center during operating hours.

The Telegraph obtained the settlement document, and a document showing an additional $7,500 settlement for the mother, as part of Open Records Act request.

The mother filed suit against Motivating Youth, Jackson and an employee, Oprah Taylor, in October 2015. Although the case ended in confidential settlements, records of nonprofit agencies -- such as Motivating Youth -- that receive at least a third of their funding from public funds are subject to disclosure under the Open Records Act.

Jackson was charged with misdemeanor battery after the incident, but the Bibb County Solicitor's Office decided last month not to prosecute him.

He contended that he had the girl's mother's permission to spank children in the past and used the belt April 22, 2015, to strike the girl three or four times after learning she'd gotten in trouble at school.

After the girl went home for the day, she was taken to a doctor and police were called. Officers took pictures of redness and bruising on the girl's buttocks and hands.

She told authorities she'd tried to shield her buttocks with her hands while Jackson struck her with the belt, causing the injury to her hands.

Further investigation revealed that Jackson had used the belt -- known to the children as "Mr. Willy," -- on other kids. The use of corporal punishment is a violation of regulations governing centers such as Motivating Youth.

Contacted Monday, Jackson's lawyer, Virgil Adams said, "the release by its terms confirms that the claim is doubtful and is disputed. Still, the decision to resolve it was the insurers' to make."

Adams said the restriction on Jackson's presence at the center during hours when children are there "should hopefully be lifted soon. It's time to move on."

Terms of the consent agreement will remain in effect until a formal review is requested, said Reg Griffin, spokesman for Georgia's Department of Early Care and Learning.

After Jackson passes a required criminal background check, the state regulatory agency will conduct a review, including monitoring his allowed one-hour monthly involvement at the center with children present, to see if any changes "would be in the best interest of children in care," Griffin said.

Information from Telegraph archives was used in this report. Amy Leigh Womack: 478-744-4398, @awomackmacon

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