A school bus aide is accused of child abuse without great bodily harm after an investigation revealed he used inappropriate force in dealing with a six-year-old autistic student from Silver Sands School.
Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Office deputies arrested 22-year-old John-Paul Martinez of Fort Walton Beach Tuesday afternoon.
The investigation started on November 2 of, 2022, after the child’s grandmother reported suspicious reddish/blue marks underneath the victim’s armpit and eye following his bus ride home on November 1st.
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Investigators say bus video shows the child, who was secured in a harness for his protection, began having a behavioral issue on the bus.
Martinez then physically restrained him by forcefully grabbing his limbs, telling him to bite himself, and pulling on him while he was still secured in his harness.
Investigators say when the child was interviewed with the assistance of his teacher, he indicated the bus aide was mean to him, made him cry, and hurt his back.
The defendant admitted his actions were excessive and that he had other options he could have taken.
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