Choate Mental Health Center Worker Caught Beating Resident Gets No Jail Time as Illinois Scales Back Facility

A worker at Choate Mental Health and Developmental Center in southern Illinois who was caught on surveillance video beating a resident received a misdemeanor plea deal with no jail time, adding to longstanding concerns about abuse and accountability at the state-run facility.

The case comes as Illinois moves to sharply reduce services at Choate following years of reports involving abuse, neglect and alleged cover-ups, Springfield’s Captiol City Now reported.

The assault occurred in February 2024 in Choate’s Cypress Unit, which housed people with developmental disabilities.

According to investigative records, employee John Curtis Spaulding repeatedly hit a resident, threw him to the ground and knelt on his neck.

A trainee told investigators she saw Spaulding strike the resident six times. Other staff members were also nearby during the incident.

The assault was captured on surveillance cameras that had been installed as part of reforms announced after earlier investigations into abuse at Choate.

Despite rules requiring suspected abuse or neglect to be reported within four hours, the incident went unreported for several days.

Spaulding resigned shortly after the allegation came to light.

Felony Charge Reduced to Misdemeanor

Spaulding was indicted on a felony aggravated battery charge in February 2024.

He later accepted a plea agreement in July 2026 that reduced the case to a misdemeanor and did not include jail time. His sentence requires anger-management programming and any recommended mental health treatment.

Another Choate employee accused of abusing a resident was also caught on camera and later received an opportunity to plead to a misdemeanor without serving jail time.

Those cases follow a broader pattern at the facility.

Investigative reporting found that at least 26 Choate employees had previously faced felony charges related to the treatment of residents, yet none ultimately served prison time.

Previous Reforms Did Not End Abuse Concerns

Choate has faced years of scrutiny over the treatment of residents.

After investigative reports documented abuse and a culture of concealment, Gov. JB Pritzker announced reforms in 2023 that included installing 75 surveillance cameras, increasing security staffing and expanding management presence in residential areas.

Serious concerns continued despite those changes.

A disability-rights advocate said the facility’s culture had proven resistant to meaningful change even after the state invested in infrastructure, management and patient-safety reforms.

Investigators also found that the Illinois Department of Human Services Office of Inspector General had received at least five previous allegations involving Spaulding, although it was unclear whether those allegations had been substantiated.

Illinois Is Phasing Out Much of Choate

In July 2026, Illinois announced plans to phase out Choate’s services for people with general intellectual and developmental disabilities and eliminate its civil mental health beds.

The changes are expected to reduce the facility’s workforce by about half.

Choate will continue operating a 40-bed forensic unit for people with developmental disabilities who are involved in the criminal justice system.

Some local officials have gone to court to challenge the downsizing, arguing that Illinois did not follow legal requirements governing facility closures.

The state has extended its timeline for closing the civil mental health beds until June 2027 to allow additional services to be developed elsewhere.

Abuse Cases Focus Attention on Institutional Failures

The Choate cases involve more than the conduct of individual employees.

Records show that witnesses sometimes failed to report abuse immediately, supervisors were present during incidents and prior allegations did not necessarily lead to intervention before later misconduct occurred.

Those issues are central to many claims involving behavioral health and residential facilities, where legal questions may include whether administrators adequately supervised staff, investigated warning signs and protected vulnerable residents.

SurvivorsRights.com is covering this case because Choate is part of a broader pattern of alleged abuse and neglect at Illinois behavioral health and residential facilities. Those same institutional failures, such as inadequate supervision, ignored warning signs and failures to protect vulnerable residents, can also be central in sexual abuse claims involving these facilities.