Background: Riverside University High School in Milwaukee, Wis. (Google Maps). Inset: Demitrios Visvardis (Milwaukee County Sheriff”s Office).
A Wisconsin man is out of a job after police said he was seen on surveillance cameras slapping a student with cerebral palsy.
Demitrios Visvardis, 39, was employed as a paraprofessional for Milwaukee Public Schools when police arrested him for battery on Jan. 21. The charge was in connection with an incident in November 2025 involving 18-year-old Shrone Dunn, a special-needs student at Riverside University High School who has cerebral palsy. According to a criminal complaint reviewed by Law&Crime, Shrone was on the floor of the hallway inside the school on Nov. 12, 2025. Visvardis tried to help her put her shoes on and a “brief struggle” ensued, culminating in Visvardis slapping the girl.
Police said the entire incident was caught on surveillance cameras.
After police interviewed teachers who were familiar with Shrone’s condition and ability to communicate, they said that she seemed “upset” after the alleged incident. Police said that based on what they learned, “it is a reasonable inference” that Shrone was hurt after Visvardis slapped her.
In an interview with local Fox affiliate WITI, Shrone’s mother Shirley Dunn said she saw the video of the alleged incident. Dunn told the station that Visvardis “picked [Shrone] up by her shoulders” and “slammed her on the chair.” She said her daughter likely told Visvardis to stop hitting her, “and that’s when he slapped her.”
Dunn told WITI that her daughter still has trouble sleeping two months after the alleged incident.
WITI obtained a statement from Jeff Lasky, the principal of Riverside University High School, that acknowledged that Visvardis allegedly slapped the student and was “not currently working in the school.” Lasky said the school alerted the police to the alleged incident and was conducting its own investigation in addition to the criminal investigation by the police.
Visvardis pleaded not guilty to a misdemeanor charge of battery on Monday. He posted $1,000 bond and is due back in court on Feb. 23.
