Classroom Assistant Hit Autistic Student In Face With Lunchbox: Pinellas County Sheriff

LARGO, FL — A Pinellas County Schools employee was arrested and charged with child abuse after hitting an autistic student with a lunchbox, authorities said.

David Jones, 65, was working as a substitute classroom assistant in a special needs classroom at Oakhurst Elementary School in Largo on Monday.

After lunch, the 6-year-old victim, who is semi-verbal, was hitting and kicking as a sign of communication, the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office said in a news release.

Jones swung a lunchbox containing a metal canister, hitting the child in the face and causing a welt on their forehead, the agency said.

He admitted to the incident on Tuesday and told investigators that it was a “knee-jerk” reaction when working with the student, the sheriff’s office said.

Jones was arrested and booked into the Pinellas County Jail.

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