SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – A Missouri teacher for the severely disabled cost the state’s taxpayers $350,000 to settle a lawsuit brought by the family of a nonverbal autistic 7-year-old she allegedly abused.

Janet Carrie Williams, 65, faces criminal charges of third-degree assault and endangering the welfare of a child after her co-workers told police she repeatedly slapped the boy in the head and called him a “son of a bitch” and “idiot,” the Springfield News-Leader reports.

MORE NEWS: Know These Before Moving From Cyprus To The UK

Days after investigators interviewed Williams and her co-workers in December, the family of the victim filed a federal lawsuit against the Green Valley State School the child attends, as well as the state Board of Education and state Department of Elementary and Secondary Education that oversees the school.

In a court order signed by U.S. Magistrate Judge David Rush this week, the family and defendants agreed to a $350,000 settlement, $232,177 of which will go to the family and the rest to their attorneys, according to the news site.

The lawsuit alleged the child – who has autism, epilepsy and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and cannot speak – suffered “bodily harm and emotional distress” at the hands of Williams, his rights were repeatedly violated, and sought an unspecified amount for medical expenses and damages.

In the settlement, the defendants disputed the allegations, the Associated Press reports.

The lawsuit alleged the child “was struck physically and abused mentally by his teacher, while administrators had notice of a pattern of unsettling behavior by this teacher, all while failing to take effective and prompt remedial action to protect (the boy) from abuse,” according to the News-Leader.

In separate interviews, multiple co-workers told police they witnessed Williams slap the child against the head. A school therapist said Williams called the boy a “son of a bitch” and said “you didn’t see me hit him.”

MORE NEWS: How to prepare for face-to-face classes

Williams told police it was a “glancing, open-handed gesture,” and admitted to “accidentally hitting him in the head” when she grabbed the child by the back of the shirt while he was being “disruptive and destructive,” the News-Leader reports.

The boy’s parents did not initially realize the alleged abuse, and there were no reports of suspicious injuries, but the family decided to contact police after receiving an anonymous letter alleging Williams smacked him around “with an open hand” and is generally “demeaning and hostile toward her students.”

Beyond the federal lawsuit, the child’s parents filed a complaint with the Missouri Commission on Human Rights, the news site reports.

A state official told the News-Leader the settlement will come from the state’s legal expense fund.

Williams was fired from the school district, which issued a statement informing the public that all employees in Missouri Schools for the Severely Disabled must adhere to a “zero tolerance policy against abuse.”

Williams had worked for the system for 15 years, and recited the rules about interactions with students when interviewed by police.

“You don’t hit, you don’t touch, you’re not supposed to scream,” she said. “You don’t accidentally hit anybody.”

Williams now faces up to a year in jail for her criminal charges, and is out on bond with the condition she doesn’t contact the student as her case is pending.