Former DeKalb County Schools superintendent granted bond after weekend assault arrest

ATLANTA, Ga. (Atlanta News First) —DeKalb County Schools’ former superintendent, who was arrested over the weekend on charges of cruelty to children and aggravated assault, has been granted bond.

DeKalb County police said Dr. Devon Horton was involved in a verbal dispute with his wife, which turned physical.

Horton’s arrest warrants state that during the argument, Horton allegedly put his hands around his wife’s neck.

Warrants also state Horton’s 5-year-old son saw him allegedly choke and push his wife toward a wall, which is why police said the child cruelty charge was added.

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On Monday, the former superintendent appeared in court draped in an orange DeKalb County Jail-issued jumpsuit.

Horton’s wife, who is the victim, asked the judge to grant bond, stating she needed her children to have their father home. Atlanta News First is not identifying her by name because she is considered the victim in the incident.

“Even in the moment where things were escalating, I was never fearful for my life. My children were never in danger. He is under a tremendous amount of stress and I believe that it just came to a bubble and I was not the one to make the phone call (to 911,)” she said. “For our home to properly run, I just want him to be here.”

Judge S. Derek Johnson-Gage granted a $25,000 bond, adding the condition that Horton could not have in-person contact with his wife.

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Horton is at the center of 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.

Horton has pleaded not guilty to 17 felony counts of wire fraud, tax evasion and embezzlement in connection with the alleged kickback scheme.