UPDATED at 10:15 a.m. Wednesday with statement from Webster Groves police chief.
CLAYTON — A ºüÀêÊÓƵ County judge has acquitted the former chief executive of a troubled behavioral health organization in Webster Groves of child endangerment and abuse, but found him guilty of misdemeanor assault.
Circuit Judge Kristine Kerr’s ruling Monday comes nearly a month after the judge dismissed a 12-felony count indictment against Vincent Hillyer, the former CEO of Great Circle. He had been charged with abusing multiple minors at the organization’s Webster Groves facility in 2018 and 2019.
Hillyer, 60, of Eureka, last month waived his rights to a jury trial and to confront witnesses, consenting to the judge deciding his remaining case. That one stemmed from an encounter Hillyer had with a child patient on a sofa at the facility on April 17, 2019.
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Hillyer was at one time known by some in the industry as the dean of residential treatment in Missouri. He once headed Boys and Girls Town of Missouri, which in 2009 merged with Webster Groves-based Edgewood Children’s Center.
Under Hillyer’s leadership, Great Circle grew to one of the largest behavioral health organizations in the state. Some argued that his arrest, along with those of other Great Circle workers, signaled the organization had grown too fast.
Great Circle closed its residential program in Webster Groves at the end of April. It had served children struggling to find placement in foster homes and other at-risk youths. In June, Great Circle settled for $9,200 a case accusing the nonprofit of overbilling Medicaid by almost $2 million.
In Monday’s ruling, the judge described an approximately five-minute video showing Hillyer appearing to restrain the child on the sofa by extending his arm across the child’s chest but the child showing “no sign of any violent struggle at all†while other staff members and residents remain in the room.
“The court finds that (the child) gave varying descriptions of the events on April 17, some of which were at considerable variance from what the court observed on the video,†Kerr wrote.
Among the child’s claims that were not supported by evidence were losing consciousness, being choked on the ground, stood upon and having a tender and bruised neck, the judge said.
Kerr’s order found that Hillyer did appear to choke the child at one point by sliding his left arm under the child’s chin “which is an attempt to cause physical pain to (the child) if he moved or tried to leave.â€
For that conduct, Kerr sentenced Hillyer to one year of probation with no special conditions. If he successfully completes probation, the case will become inaccessible to the public.
“We’re ecstatic,†Hillyer’s lawyer Joel Schwartz said Tuesday. “He’s very happy and is glad to put this episode behind him.â€
Schwartz said the case against his client was weak from the beginning and was brought by a police department that he believes grew frustrated with frequent complaints about a facility that deals with troubled youths.
“I think the police then jumped the gun and told the prosecutor they had all this evidence which didn’t seem to pan out,†Schwartz said. “I believe the prosecution was sold a bill of goods that didn’t present itself.â€
Webster Groves Police Chief Dale Curtis said in an email that the number of calls for service to Great Circle was not a factor in the case.
"The investigation of Mr. Hillyer and Great Circle staff was initiated by concerning events that were discovered to have occurred on the campus as well as complaints from current and past employees of that organization," Curtis wrote. "Our officers and detectives worked diligently and objectively over the course of many days and weeks to investigate and establish facts surrounding the circumstances of those incidents."
"Any allegations that suggest unprofessional conduct or police motives unrelated to the crimes charged are completely unfounded and misplaced," Curtis said.
 Spokespeople for Great Circle and for ºüÀêÊÓƵ County Prosecuting Attorney Wesley Bell’s office said they had no comment about the case.
The Great Circle campus has been a frequent stop for first responders. Between March 2015 and March 2021, Webster Groves police logged about 1,300 calls for service there. In February, federal agents raided headquarters.
Hillyer initially was accused of creating “a substantial risk to the body and health†of the child “by choking and using other physical restraint and force control hold techniques†at Great Circle’s campus.
After prosecutors charged Hillyer, several other Great Circle employees were charged with crimes alleged to have occurred at the facility.
Jesse Bogan of the Post-Dispatch contributed to this report.