Former Evanston-Skokie District 65 Superintendent Devon Horton was indicted by a grand jury in DeKalb County, Georgia Aug. 4 on charges of aggravated assault and cruelty to children following a “verbal dispute” with his wife in January that turned physical, per DeKalb County court records.
These charges are separate from Horton’s October 2025 federal indictment by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Illinois over what prosecutors allege as a kickback scheme and misappropriation of District 65 funds that occurred during his tenure as superintendent.
Horton held the District 65 leadership role for four years, resigning in 2023 shortly before taking the reins of the DeKalb County School District.
He resigned from that superintendent position following news of his 2025 federal indictment in Illinois and a forced administrative leave, according to the DeKalb County School District.
Horton’s Aug. 4 indictment in Georgia, filed in DeKalb County Superior Court, charged Horton with one felony count of aggravated assault, strangulation and two misdemeanor counts of cruelty to children in the third degree, according to DeKalb County court records.
DeKalb County police initially responded to a report of a domestic dispute from Horton’s Stone Mountain, Georgia home on Saturday, Jan. 16, per previous reports.
In a prior statement from police, officers determined upon arrival that a “verbal dispute” had taken place between Horton and his wife, which quickly turned physical.
The alleged assault, described in DeKalb County jail records as attempted strangulation, took place in the presence of his two children, which resulted in Horton’s two misdemeanor charges of cruelty to children.
Horton’s attorney in the Georgia case, Alasia Dalton of Robert James Trial Attorneys, did not immediately respond to a Pioneer Press request for comment regarding the indictment.
According to DeKalb County Superior Court records, Horton posted bond at $27,000. He is scheduled to return to court for his arraignment on Sept. 2.
But Horton’s legal troubles won’t end there, as he is expected to return to Illinois for his much-anticipated federal trial starting in October.
The 17 counts of wire fraud, tax evasion and embezzlement he faces carry a maximum prison sentence of 290 years, according to Pioneer Press calculations, per previous reports.
Prosecutors in the federal case argue Horton approved District 65 work contracts from 2020 to 2023 to the companies of three of his “friends,” former Chicago Public Schools employees Antonio Ross and Alfonzo Lewis, and a third man named Samuel Ross, of Berwyn.
Antonio Ross and Samuel Ross are not related.
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The scheme paid the companies for doing little work in return for Horton to receive kickbacks totaling nearly $81,000, along with additional money, according to the federal indictment.
Federal court records allege the three friends of Horton’s lied about their work contracts and sent phony work invoices to receive payment.
Horton pleaded not guilty to all federal charges at his arraignment at the Dirksen U.S. Courthouse in Chicago October 2025, per previous reports.
Following news of his indictment last October, then-District 65 Board President Sergio Hernandez and Vice President Nichole Pinkard wrote in a statement that the district was “deeply troubled and angered” by the allegations, but did not comment further so as to not compromise the federal investigation.
Before working as superintendent at District 65, Horton was employed as the chief of schools for Jefferson County in Kentucky for five years.
Horton began his career at CPS, working as a teacher before becoming principal and then assistant superintendent for East St. Louis Public School District 189.