Case of former teacher’s aide set for jury trial
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ESCANABA -- After considering a plea offer, a former teacher’s aide at the Delta Schoolcraft Intermediate School District (DSISD) Learning Center has decided to proceed to a jury trial.
Robin Merle Popour, 54, of Gladstone, appeared in the Delta County 47th Circuit Court Wednesday to officially decline Delta County Prosecuting Attorney Lauren Wickman's plea offer, maintaining a not guilty plea.
Popour faces one count of third-degree child abuse, a felony punishable by two years in prison or probation for up to five years.
The decision comes after Popour and her attorney, Trenton Stupak, appeared in court Tuesday. Stupak requested Popour be granted the opportunity to take the night to consider the offer, which 47th Circuit Court Judge John Economopoulos permitted.
If Popour had accepted the plea, a guilty or no contest plea would have been entered in exchange for a 12-month delay of sentence.
Upon successful completion of the delayed sentence, a conviction of assault and battery would have been entered for Popour upon sentencing, and she would serve an additional two years of probation and a 25-day jail sentence.
After Wednesday, the plea agreement expired.
Popour's jury trial is now scheduled to take place the week of Dec. 21. She remains out on bond.
Popour is accused of grabbing a special needs student and throwing him against a window in a DSISD Learning Center classroom on Dec. 17, 2025. According to the police report on the incident, Popour proceeded to throw the student into his chair and “threatened the student to ‘not touch her or she will slap his hands.'”
Prior to the incident, classroom aides reported seeing the student interact inappropriately with a harness in a wooden cubby. Aides also reported Popour as saying, “I don’t care if he hits me, I am taking his harness," amongst other alleged statements against the student.
DSISD Superintendent Kristina Hansen said she and the center's administration were notified of the incident the next day, and Popour was immediately placed on administrative leave before ultimately being terminated.
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Sophie Vogelmann can be reached at 906-786-2021, ext. 148, or svogelmann@dailypress.net.