DEKALB COUNTY, Ga. (Decaturish) — Former DeKalb County Schools Superintendent Devon Horton was arrested Saturday on charges of cruelty to children and aggravated assault, as reported by Decaturish.

He was booked in the DeKalb County Jail at 1:38 p.m. The charges are cruelty to children in the third degree and aggravated assault - strangulation.

“The DeKalb County School District is aware of the reported arrest of former superintendent Dr. Devon Horton, which stems from an alleged incident not related to the school district,” a DeKalb County Schools spokesperson said. “As this is an active legal matter with law enforcement, the district has no further information to share and will not be making additional statements. The safety and well-being of our students and staff remain our highest priority.”

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Horton is also undergoing a federal investigation and trial in Illinois. He is accused of participating in a kickback scheme while serving as the superintendent of the Evanston-Skokie School District 65. He was indicted in October 2025 and resigned from DeKalb County Schools in November.

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Horton pleaded not guilty to 17 felony counts of wire fraud, tax evasion, and embezzlement in connection with the alleged kickback scheme. Horton and three others were charged. The indictment charges the four men took or gave kickbacks from businesses they owned that made contracts with District 65 and Chicago Public Schools without disclosing their involvement or financial stake, the Evanston RoundTable reported.

Decaturish has reached out to the DeKalb County Police Department seeking more information about the January arrest.

This is a developing story. More information will be added as it becomes available.

Decaturish reporter Jim Bass contributed to this article.

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