Littleton, Colorado, is a western suburb of the Denver metropolitan area. It's a quite, mostly suburban town, not one of the busier parts of the city, but on April 5th, parents in the community were dismayed when a school bus aide, Kiarra Monte Laron Jones, was arrested for physically abusing at least three non-verbal, autistic students over six months.
Three students with severe autism "suffered unimaginable abuse" at the hands of a Littleton Public Schools (LPS) bus aide over the course of about six months, according to a local law firm representing the families.
The children, who are all non-verbal and rely on caregivers for their basic needs, traveled on a specialized LPS school bus every day between their homes and the Joshua School, a specialized facility that offers one-on-one instruction for children with autism. Rathod | Mohamedbhai LLC, which is representing the children's three families, said March 18 video footage from that school bus showed the bus aide, identified as Kiarra Monte Laron Jones, 29, of Littleton, repeatedly striking, punching and stomping on one of the children, the law firm said.
Jones was hired, it should be noted, specifically to care for disabled students while they were traveling to and from school.
Jones had been hired as a paraprofessional by the Littleton Public Schools District and was responsible for the care of the students on the bus.
According to an arrest warrant for Jones filed on April 4, she is facing a charge of crimes against an at-risk adult or juvenile (third-degree assault) and crimes against an at-risk adult or juvenile causing injury. She was arrested on April 5 and bonded out on a $5,000 bond. This is an ongoing investigation, so more criminal charges are possible.
On Twitter, Andy Ngo presented us with a video, which depicts some horrific acts of physical abuse.
Graphic video.
— Andy Ngô 🏳️🌈 (@MrAndyNgo) April 9, 2024
Denver, Colo. — A staffer with Littleton Public Schools @LPSK12 has been arrested and charged for allegedly beating a disabled child on a school bus. Kiarra Jones was recorded punching and stomping on a young boy who has a severe disability and is non-verbal.… pic.twitter.com/zgUx0MKMOu
From the video, this appears to be an unprompted, unprovoked, and inexcusable attack on a disabled child.
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Families place great trust in the educational establishment, including not only teachers but administrators and staff from bus drivers to school nurses to janitors. These people are around our children, interacting with our children, and doing so out of our sight, every day. Betrayal of that trust is horrifying, and this is an example that is even more egregious because of the helplessness of the children who were Kiarra Monte Laron Jones' victims, all three of whom were, I remind you, severely autistic and non-verbal.
It would be interesting to know what screening was done by the Littleton Public Schools District in hiring Jones. What kind of a person can abuse children like this? This woman should never again be allowed near anybody's children, disabled or otherwise.
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