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 Teacher's
Aide Charged With Abusing Autistic Students
December 19, 2003, WJXT, Jacksonville, Florida
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A 60-year-old
teacher's aide at a Duval County elementary school accused of
abusing several of her students faces criminal charges and lost
her job.
Graceil Jones was arrested last Friday after investigating
reports from school security officers that the teaching
assistant at Pinedale Elementary has struck at least three
students, at least two of them disabled.
According to a police report, the teacher that Jones was
assisting had seen Jones strike an 8-year-old autistic boys on
different occasions, once with her hand, once with a ruler, and
once with her shoe. She also reported the Jones regularly would
bend the boy's fingers back so far that he would fall to the
ground screaming.
The teacher said she has seen Jones also bend a 6-year-old
autistic student's fingers back, forcing her to the ground.
Similar abuse was reported on a 9-year-old boy at the school.
"There appeared to be some very poor decision-making on the part
of this employee," Duval County school district spokesman John
Williams said. "It's a shocking allegation. These are autistic
children, and there's absolutely no excuse to hit them."
Jones turned herself into police and was charged with child
abuse. She was later released on $2,503 bond.
After Duval County school officials investigated the charges,
the 14-year employee was fired. The district told Channel 4 that
they plan additional training for the remaining teachers at the
school, not only about appropriate behavior, but also about
reporting any abuse they observe to their superiors.
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