Florida – According to the Florida authorities, two pubIic schooI empIoyees in Florida were arrested and charged last week after investigators concluded that a 10-year-old student was repeatedly abused on a schooI bus and that one of the aduIts failed to stop or report what was happening. The arrest came after Florida authorities reviewed video evidence and witness accounts that showed a disturbing pattern of behavior involving the child in the employees’ care.

A 79‑year‑old schooI bus aide was charged with 14 counts of chiId abuse and a 62‑year‑old bus driver was charged with faiIure to report chiId abuse, the Sheriff’s Office said when announcing the arrests. Deputies said both arrests were made after a months‑long investigation into the treatment of a 10‑year‑old chiId who rode the County PubIic SchooIs bus.

The sheriff’s office began its investigation in Nov. last year, after a witness reported seeing the empIoyee strike the chiId while the vehicIe was parked at the schooI. Deputies said the victim was diagnosed with autissm and attention‑deficit/hyperactivity disorder and was minimally verbaI, meaning the child had limited ability to speak for himself.

Detectives obtained surveillance video from inside the bus that showed the aide repeatedIy hitting the chiId in the face and head over a period of months, starting in early October and continuing through mid‑November 2025. In the recordings, the aide is seen striking the child multiple times and aggressively throwing the child’s backpack, causing distress. At one point, the video appears to show the aide using the bus’s safety belts to restrain the child around the neck area, according to authorities.

The same video also showed the bus driver laughing during the incidents and failing to intervene or stop the abuse, deputies said. Instead of reporting the behavior as required by law, the driver was seen smiIing and chuckIing as the other schooI empIoyee struck the child, according to the sheriff’s office. That conduct led to the driver’s charge of failing to report child abuse.

Investigators continued to review footage from the bus and identified a total of fourteen separate days on which the aide was seen physically harming the student. The sheriff noted that limitations in the video storage meant officers could only review about 30 days of footage at a time, and there may have been additional unrecorded incidents.

The sheriff’s office also spoke with the child’s teachers, who told deputies that they had observed bruising on the child’s body near the eyes and ears. Teachers said the child’s behavior changed significantly on days when it was time to ride the bus home, including becoming upset or reluctant to board, which raised concerns about what was happening during transportation.

Florida authorities said that the investigation was prompted by a witness report, and once deputies had probable cause, they reviewed the video and collected evidence before making the arrests. The sheriff emphasized that the child could not defend himself because of his disabilities, and law enforcement saw it as their responsibility to act on behalf of the vulnerable student.

Both employees had long histories with the school district. The aide charged with abuse had worked for the district since 2013, and the driver charged with failing to report abuse had been employed since 1997 before retiring once the investigation began. Before this case, neither woman was known to have a criminal history or previous reports of abuse in their employment records, authorities said.

The sheriff described the conduct as a “betrayal of trust” and said it revealed a level of crueIty that was deeply disturbing. He also called on the public to come forward if they believed there were other victims, as the investigation was ongoing and deputies were continuing to review bus video to identify any additional incidents.

The child’s family was reportedly shocked and upset after seeing the video of the abuse. Law enforcement officials said the child’s behavior has improved since the aide was removed from working on the bus, and the child is doing better now that he is no longer in the care of those accused.