Nancy Sweeney Park Ridge 4th grade elementary school teacher charged w/ battery and hate crime after assaulting 87 year old woman of German heritage and calling her Nazi.
An Illinois elementary teacher accused of assaulting an 87-year-old woman of German heritage and calling her a ‘Nazi’ has been charged with a hate crime, police said.
Nancy Sweeney, who teaches fourth-graders at Franklin Elementary School in Park Ridge, was arrested late last month in the Feb. 20 attack after being accused of hitting her neighbor in the face with a purse inside a parking garage at their condo complex in Niles, police told the Chicago Tribune.
The blow caused the neighbor — who is of German descent — to fall down, leaving her with bruises and cuts to her face. The victim also told police Sweeney called her a ‘Nazi’ during the confrontation, WGN-TV reports.
Sweeney, 45, was apparently upset that the victim was exercising in the indoor garage where they both live, police told WLS-TV. The victim, following the assault, refused to go to a hospital.
Sweeney was taken into custody on Feb. 28 and is facing counts of aggravated battery and a hate crime charge in connection with the alleged Nazi reference, Acting Police Cmdr. Anthony Scipione told the Tribune.
The Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office reviewed the case and approved a felony aggravated battery charge against Sweeney due to the victim’s age and also approved a hate crime charge based on the alleged Nazi reference, Scipione said.
The teacher was put on paid administrative leave March 4, one day after school district officials learned of the accusations.
Sweeney, who has been employed by Park Ridge-Niles School District 64 for 14 years, is set to appear in court Friday. Bond for Sweeney was set at $15,000.
