Left: Kiarra Jones (Arapahoe County Jail). Proper: A screenshot of a video of Jones assaulting a toddler with autism on a Colorado college bus (KUSA/YouTube).
A Colorado college bus aide is headed to jail after she was caught on video placing a minimum of three nonverbal college students who’ve autism, devastating mother and father who thought she was there to guard their youngsters.
Kiarra Jones, 30, on Friday was sentenced to 4 1/2 years behind bars, prosecutors with the 18th Judicial District mentioned. She pleaded responsible in January to 10 counts of third-degree felony assault of an at-risk youngster and two counts of misdemeanor youngster abuse.
Decide Laqunya Baker famous that the movies have been “gut-wrenching” to look at and deemed jail time acceptable.
One of many mother and father of the victims, Kevin Yarbrough, addressed the courtroom.
“I stand earlier than you immediately as not only a guardian, however as a voice, a voice for my son who can not stand right here and communicate for himself, a voice for a kid who trusted adults round him to guard him and was as a substitute harm by somebody who was presupposed to look after him,” he mentioned, in accordance with a courtroom report from Colorado Public Radio.
As Legislation&Crime beforehand reported, the investigation started in 2024 when one of many college students got here dwelling with bruises on his foot that weren’t there earlier than. The boy”s mom known as the bus director for Littleton Public Faculties and requested to evaluation the surveillance video from contained in the buses. Video revealed that not solely did Jones assault the boy on the day in query however she hit him on a number of events in addition to different college students. There have been a minimum of three victims.
Yarbrough beforehand instructed reporters after Jones pleaded responsible that he had “blended feelings to say the least.”
“It is irritating,” mentioned Kevin Yarbrough, per native CBS affiliate KCNC. “My son isn’t capable of communicate, so I really feel my job as a father is to signify him in courtroom, so it’s irritating. That being mentioned, I’m glad that the following step on this course of goes ahead. I am glad that after two years of delays, she was lastly capable of take some accountability for what she did to our youngsters.”
The Littleton Police Division on March 28, 2024, realized about potential youngster abuse towards a scholar on a Littleton Public Faculties bus . Investigators reviewed video from the bus that confirmed Jones, a paraprofessional assigned to a scholar on the bus, hit the boy a number of occasions, in accordance with police.
Police obtained an arrest warrant for Jones on April 4, 2024, and took her to the Arapahoe County Jail, the place she posted a $5,000 bond.
The mother and father of the three youngsters have since employed a lawyer and mentioned in a earlier information convention their youngsters suffered a knocked-out tooth, fractured bones and deep bruises. Jones, an worker with Littleton Faculties, accompanied the children on the bus every day because it took them to The Joshua Faculty, which caters to college students with autism.
The mother and father mentioned they first observed bumps and bruises on their then-10-year-old son in September 2023, in accordance with native CBS affiliate KCNC. The boy’s accidents worsened over time, they mentioned.
“They took my belief and spit on it,” the daddy mentioned.
The mom took her considerations to The Joshua Faculty, which instructed her the accidents didn’t occur whereas he was of their care. Littleton Public Faculties allegedly instructed her there was nothing to be involved about after she questioned them.
“I … received a telephone name from Littleton police informing me that an LPS worker had severely abused my youngster,” she mentioned. “I went to the LPS transportation constructing and was in utter shock.”
The mother and father selected to publicly launch a surveillance video from the bus on the afternoon of March 18, 2024, that exhibits Jones elbowing and slapping the boy within the neck and face and stomping on his toes, seemingly unprovoked.
“How might somebody that I trusted, somebody that I used to be so pleasant with do that to my little boy?” the mom mentioned, combating again tears. “The torture and torment of my candy boy might’ve been stopped.”
Two different households reported comparable accidents to their youngsters.
The Joshua Faculty mentioned in a press release it first heard considerations from a mom about her kid’s accidents in January 2024.
“Self-injurious habits and unexplained bruising is not unusual in our college students, however due to the priority of a mom attempting to determine the supply of her kid’s accidents, we contacted the [Littleton] college district to request a evaluation of transportation footage for something out of the extraordinary,” the varsity mentioned in a press release. “At the moment, we have been assured by LPS that nothing out of the extraordinary had occurred. We then continued to speak and work with the mom to determine the supply of her kid’s accidents.”
Littleton colleges gave Legislation&Crime the letter it despatched to oldsters of scholars on the bus. The district claims it didn’t be taught of the accidents till March 19, 2024. It then started an inner investigation and alerted regulation enforcement. The district fired Jones the identical day.
“This sort of habits can’t be and isn’t tolerated. As mother and father, you belief us with the well-being of your youngsters and you must by no means have to fret about them being harmed when they’re in our care,” the letter mentioned.
Ed C. Hopkins, of the Rathod Mohamedbhai regulation agency, which represents three households, beforehand mentioned the District Legal professional’s Workplace notified the households of the extra expenses towards Jones for her “unspeakable and inhumane acts towards autistic college students.”
“The households commend the District Legal professional’s Workplace for its diligence and dedication to convey these expenses on behalf of our most precious and susceptible residents, our youngsters,” the regulation agency mentioned. “These unprovoked assaults on a defenseless, severely disabled youngster are sickening. The restricted info at the moment accessible signifies that abuse on the LPS bus started effectively earlier than March 18, 2024. Every household is experiencing an immeasurable quantity of ache, heartbreak, anger, and utter disillusionment as they search justice for his or her youngsters.”
