School Bus Aide Not Charged In Autistic Child Incident

July 8, 2010

Prosecutor Says 'Inaction' Not Criminal

POSTED: 5:33 pm EDT July 7, 2010

UPDATED: 9:15 am EDT July 8, 2010

FORT PIERCE, Fla. --

A St. Lucie County school bus aide who was arrested in March on a child neglect

charge won't be criminally charged in the incident that left an autistic child

bloody and a school bus window broken.

was an aide on a school bus when an autistic boy became so

agitated that he hit his own head repeatedly against the window, police said.

" I didn't ignore that child, " said. " I didn't know what to do. I never had

training with this child. I just had been on this bus. I didn't know (anything)

about this child. "

Prosecutor Bruin said that while it's bothersome did not physically

intervene, her actions did not rise to the level of a crime in Florida.

" It's bothersome, " he said. " You would hope that someone would be able to stop

the student from doing that, but it's also clear that she didn't know how to

react and she didn't know what to do. "

Bruin said it was his decision not to file charges. He said he interviewed

witnesses and looked at ' training.

" While I don't condone her inaction, it didn't rise to the level of a criminal

act that I could prove beyond a reasonable doubt in court, " he said.

said she gave the boy some of her cookies and calming words in order to

try and diffuse the situation. She said she even borrowed the bus driver's cell

phone to call the boy's mother for help.

" It (made) me feel real bad, " she said. " I mean, they had me like I was a career

criminal. I'm not a criminal. "

When asked if will be allowed back on the job, a representative for the

St. Lucie County school board said the incident is still being investigated.

said now that the decision has been made not to file charges, she plans to

enjoy spending more time with her grandchildren.

Recommended Posts