Littleton Public School bus aide fired, arrested after Colorado students with autism "traumatized and tortured"
Fractured bones, a knocked-out tooth, deep bruises and immeasurable heartache. Those are just some of the injuries suffered by at least three students with autism allegedly at the hands of a Littleton Public Schools paraprofessional trusted to care for them.
The kids take a dedicated bus provided by the LPS transportation system to get to one of Colorado's most highly regarded private schools for students with autism – The Joshua School. Yet, as some parents discovered and told CBS News Colorado – that bus was a place of what one attorney called torture.
"They took my trust and spit on it," said Devin, the father of 10-year-old Dax, in a press conference, fighting back tears as described what happened to his son.
The families asked that their last names not to be shared, but Dax's parents did want the video of their son to be made public – without blurring or redaction. Dax is non-verbal, so his facial reactions and body language are what speak for him, his parents said.
"It was a heavy decision to make to uncover it, but we cannot bring attention to this if we don't look at it," said Dax's mother, Jess. "It's ugly to look at, but it's important to see how confused and afraid he was in that video. It just speaks to his vulnerability, and it speaks to the terror he had to endure while on that bus."
That video was shared Tuesday morning, showing Dax aboard that LPS bus sitting next to paraprofessional Kiarra Jones. It was recorded March 18 and captures Jones, 28, physically abusing the 10-year-old boy – repeatedly elbowing him in the stomach, slapping his face, and stomping on his feet.
"How could someone that I trusted, someone that I was so friendly with do this to my little boy?" Jess said tearfully. "The torture and torment of my sweet boy could've been stopped."
Jess said she noticed strange bumps and bruises on her son months ago, dating back to September 2023. She brought her concerns to staff at The Joshua School, who confirmed with her Dax did not suffer those injuries while in their care. Jess said she then brought her concerns to LPS, but they told her there was nothing to be concerned about. Then, Jess said, her son's injuries became worse, and she demanded answers from the district.
"I notified LPS on March 18 and on March 19 got a phone call from Littleton police informing me that an LPS employee had severely abused my child," she said. "I went to the LPS transportation building and was in utter shock."
The video made her sick, she said, and that stomach-turning intensified when police said other children were also abused, allegedly at the hands of Jones as well.
"My son doesn't have the ability to tell me when someone is hurting him," said another child's father. "My son doesn't have the ability to tell me that he was forced to watch someone hurt his friends."
Now, the parents of three young students are prepared to sue the school district. They say LPS knew about their abuse concerns for months and seemingly turned a blind eye.
"They had everything they needed to stop it faster and they didn't," said attorney Ed C. Hopkins, of the Rathod Mohamedbhai law firm. "They had notice and they ignored it. These children have been traumatized and tortured because they failed them."
A failure, Jess said, is blatantly obvious in the alarming video she wants the world to see.
"Although it's hard to watch, that's what my child has endured for months due to inaction by Littleton Public Schools," she said. "He had to live through that every day. The least we can do is bring awareness to a situation that is unfortunately more common than you would think. There needs to be change."
LPS has not responded to multiple requests for an interview but did share a letter a district spokesperson said the superintendent emailed to LPS parents on April 5. It states the district "learned a parent observed injuries after being transported home on March 19." That's when an internal investigation began, Jones was fired, and police were notified.
Yet that's upwards of six months after three different families say they started raising concerns about observed injuries to LPS staff.
"Through lack of action, accountability, and frankly a lack of care, it has again been made abundantly clear how low my son's needs are on the social totem pole, as far as the school system is concerned," said Devin.
"This kind of behavior cannot be and is not tolerated," the letter from LPS reads. "As parents, you trust us with the well-being of your children and you should never have to worry about them being harmed when they are in our care."
The letter also claims Jones was hired in August 2023 "after satisfactory reference checks and after passing through a background check." Jones was arrested on April 4 after the incident was reported to the Englewood Police Department by Littleton police on March 28. She was released from the Arapahoe County Jail on a $5,000 bond on April 5.
Jones is scheduled for a preliminary hearing in Arapahoe County Court on May 3 at 1:30 p.m. on charges of crimes against at-risk juvenile- third-degree assault and crimes against at-risk juvenile- injury.
