A Colorado school bus aide was caught on video allegedly torturing an autistic, non-verbal 10-year-old child, and the victim’s parents tearfully express their outrage.
Additionally, the boy is reportedly not the only victim of the former Littleton Public Schools paraprofessional.
What are the details?
KCNC TV reported. The suspect inflicted injuries including broken bones, extracted teeth, and deep bruises on at least three autistic students at Joshua School, one of the state’s top schools, while riding on a school district-provided bus. There is some suspicion. A highly regarded private school for students with autism.
KCNC also said the victim’s family asked that their last name not be published.
“They stole my trust and spat on me,” Devin, the father of 10-year-old Dax, tearfully said at a news conference, according to the station.
Image source: YouTube screenshot
According to a report from KCNC, Dax’s parents have decided to release disturbing footage of what happened to their son without blurring his face, saying the boy’s facial expressions and body language can tell a lot about his feelings. It is said that he was hoping for
Image source: YouTube screenshot
According to the station, Dax’s mother, Jess, said, “It was a heavy decision to reveal this incident, but we can’t get attention without investigating it.” “It’s ugly to watch, but it’s important to see how confused and afraid he was in that video. It just shows his weakness, and it’s important to see how confused and afraid he was on the bus. It speaks to the horrors they had to endure.”
More from KCNC:
The video was shared Tuesday morning and shows Dax sitting next to paraprofessional Kiara Jones on an LPS bus. The video, recorded on March 18, shows Jones, 28, physically assaulting the 10-year-old boy, including repeatedly elbowing him in the stomach, slapping him in the face, and stomping him. The abuse was captured on video.
“How could someone I trusted, someone I was so friendly with, do this to my little boy?” she asked tearfully, according to the station. “The torture and suffering of my sweet son could have been stopped.”
Image source: YouTube screenshot
Jess said she started noticing bruises and bruises on her son in September 2023, and later informed Joshua School staff that Dax had not sustained any such injuries while in their care, KCNC reported. This has been confirmed.
She added to the station that she had turned to LPS, but they said there was nothing to worry about. After Dax’s injuries worsened, Jess told KCNC she wanted answers from the district.
Image source: YouTube screenshot
“I called LPS on March 18th and received a call from Littleton Police on March 19th informing me that an LPS employee had severely abused my child,” the department added. “I went to the LPS transportation building and was completely shocked.”
Jess was later informed that Jones was suspected of abusing other children as well, KCNC noted.
“My son doesn’t have the ability to tell when someone hurts him,” the father of another victim said, according to the station. “My son doesn’t have the capacity to talk about being forced to watch someone hurt his friend.”
“Traumatized and tortured.”
KCNC now reports that the parents of these three students are prepared to sue the school district, adding that they claim LPS knew of their abuse concerns for months but did nothing.
“They had everything they needed to stop it sooner, and they didn’t have it,” said Ed C. Hopkins, an attorney with the Rathod Mohamed Dubai law firm, according to the agency. “They knew and they ignored it. They have been traumatized and tortured because of their failures.”
Image source: YouTube screenshot
KCNC added that Jess wanted to draw attention to the issue: “Unfortunately, it’s more common than you think. Change is needed.”
anything else?
The department said the district declined multiple requests for interviews, but a district spokesperson shared a letter Friday that it said the superintendent emailed to LPS parents. The letter states that an internal investigation was launched on March 19, and Jones was fired and police were notified, KCNC reported.
“This kind of behavior should not occur and cannot be tolerated,” the letter said, according to the department. “As a parent, you trust us with your children’s well-being, and you will never have to worry that they will be harmed while in our care.”
More from KCNC:
The letter also claims that Jones was hired in August 2023 “after a satisfactory background and background investigation.” Jones was arrested on April 4th. She was released from Arapahoe County Jail on $5,000 bail on April 5 after the incident was reported to Inglewood police by Littleton police on March 28.
Jones is scheduled for a preliminary hearing in Arapahoe County Court on May 3 at 1:30 p.m. on charges of third-degree assault of a dangerous youth and dangerous injury to a juvenile.
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