HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY, Fla. – Two Florida public school employees have been arrested following a child abuse investigation involving a 10-year-old student, according to the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office.
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The agency said that its investigation began on Nov. 14, after a witness reported that Juanita Wright, 79, a bus aide, struck the child on a school bus parked at Caminiti Exceptional School.
The student, who is diagnosed with autism and ADHD, is minimally verbal, the sheriff’s office said.
In the video posted to social media by the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office, Wright can be seen hitting the child in the face and head area multiple times and aggressively throwing a backpack toward the child as they struggle to defend themselves.
At one point, it also appears that Wright uses safety belts on the bus’s seat to restrain the child by the neck.
Additionally, the bus driver, Tonya Rice-Constant, was seen laughing and did not intervene during the incidents.
On Jan. 26, both Wright and Rice-Constant were arrested in connection with the abuse.
“This case goes far beyond abuse,” said Sheriff Chad Chronister, condemning the actions. “It reveals a level of cruelty that is deeply disturbing.”
Chronister added, “It is an inexcusable betrayal of trust and a profound lack of humanity when adults who are supposed to protect a child not only inflict harm, but also allow it to happen. In Hillsborough County, this kind of conduct will be met with the full force of the law.”