A former Okaloosa County special education teacher’s request to be released on bond while the appeal of her seven-year sentence for child abuse is pending, has been denied. Circuit Court Judge Michael Flowers who presided over Marlynn Stillions’ criminal trial in October and sentenced her to prison after she was convicted, made the decision. Stillions was convicted of physically abusing a 4-year-old, non-verbal autistic child on three occasions at Kenwood Elementary School during the 2015-16 school year. The Court of Appeals could rule in the case as early as October.