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Tyler Zanella was charged with 164 counts. He pleaded guilty to 11 counts, and the others were dismissed.
FORT COLLINS, Colo. — A Larimer County District Court judge handed down the maximum sentence for a paraprofessional who was seen on video assaulting multiple special needs students on a school bus.
Judge Daniel McDonald called Tyler Zanell’s behavior “sadistic,” said that he chose to assault the children over and over and that his actions could not be explained away as “mistakes.”
During a January hearing, Zanella admitted that he physically abused 11 students. At that same hearing, he pleaded guilty to seven felony counts and four misdemeanor counts.
McDonald sentenced Zanella to 1.5 years in the Colorado Department of Corrections for each of the felony counts – for a total of 10.5 years. The judge also sentenced him to six months in jail for each of the misdemeanor counts. All the sentences will be served consecutively for a total of 12.5 years.
Zanella was charged with 164 counts, but as part of the plea deal, the other 153 counts were dismissed.
The investigation into Zanella began in May 2023 when Fort Collins Police said the Poudre School District reported that he made an “inappropriate comment” to a student. That prompted a review of surveillance video from a school bus Zanella was on.
“He chose every day to come to work and every day to abuse them. It was premeditated. It was sadistic, and it was twisted beyond any words I’ve ever learned, never mind words I could say in a courtroom,” one parent told the court. “I used to believe anyone could be reformed. I now believe Tyler is one of those pathetic souls whose only accomplishment will ever be reminding society that some people are unredeemable.”
The video showed Zanella hitting a boy who has autism and is nonverbal, police said. More video footage was pulled from prior dates that shows Zanella involved in two other incidents with the same student on April 25 and May 19, an arrest affidavit says.
“All this trauma because Tyler chose to seek out a job where he could prey on some of the most vulnerable children in the world and abuse them,” the parent said. “He sought out children who couldn’t even articulate, look, dad, look what he’s doing right now. He’s hurting us.”
As part of his sentence, McDonald also ordered that Zanella not have contact with any children under the age of 18, including his own children. His attorney objected to that portion of the sentencing and noted that he planned to appeal.
McDonald responded by saying “that was his right” but noted that in his own statements, Zanella mentioned that he treated his children similarly to the way he arrested the students on the bus. McDonald underscored that he had “great concern” for Zanella’s children.
Zanella was hired by the Poudre School District despite a prior conviction on a misdemeanor child abuse charge. Documents show Adams County Sheriff’s Office deputies arrested Zanella on Jan. 3, 2012. Prosecutors charged Zanella with child abuse – knowingly or recklessly causing injury. In court, Zanella reached a deal with prosecutors, pleading to a reduced charge of child abuse – negligence, no injury.
As a result of Zanella’s arrest, the district said it made policy changes. During his sentencing, McDonald also appeared to chastise the district for hiring Zanella in the first place.
“I have no idea who needs to hear this, and I have no idea if they’re in this room or not, but you don’t hire someone with a conviction of child abuse to be a paraprofessional to work with kids,” McDonald said. “Not just kids, kids with special needs. That seems self-evident, but maybe it is not.”
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