Former Littleton Public Schools worker pleads responsible to abusing college students on bus

Nearly two years after a Littleton Public Schools bus aide was caught abusing a nonverbal baby with extreme autism on digicam, the prison aspect of the case is drawing to an in depth and the victims’ households are considering a civil swimsuit.

Kiarra Jones, a former paraprofessional for the college district, took a deal and pleaded responsible shortly earlier than 9 a.m. Monday to 10 counts of third-degree assault of an at-risk baby, a felony, and two counts of misdemeanor baby abuse, 18th Judicial District Attorney’s Office spokesperson Eric Ross mentioned. The deal dropped one cost of felony baby abuse from her case.

The last-minute plea deal canceled a jury trial scheduled to start Monday in Arapahoe County District Court, court docket data present.

Jessica Vestal, the mom of the boy being overwhelmed by Jones within the video, mentioned the plea deal didn’t come out of the blue, however she was nonetheless disenchanted when it occurred.

“The spiteful part of me was looking forward to a trial because that was all we had … to put her on display,” Vestal mentioned. “She didn’t just hurt our kids, she actively partook in lying to me to make sure she could hurt them for as long as possible.”

Vestal mentioned Jones would proactively textual content her about her son’s accidents, shifting the blame to different workers members or the kid himself.

Brittany Yarbrough, one other sufferer’s mom, known as the plea deal “bittersweet.”

Yarbrough mentioned she had seen the trial as an opportunity to present her son a voice and was disenchanted she wouldn’t have that chance. But, she added, she was grateful the plea deal meant Jones couldn’t enchantment the ruling and drag out the case for even longer.

“This won’t ever be over for my son and for my family,” Yarbrough mentioned.

“This defendant was placed in a position of trust with defenseless children, and she clearly abused that responsibility,” District Attorney Amy Padden mentioned. “Her actions are inexcusable. This resolution allows the victims and their families to move forward without the trauma of a trial, while still ensuring accountability.”

Teachers at Joshua School in Englewood, the place the three kids harm by Jones attended, reached out to Yarbrough after the video of Jones hitting Vestal’s son surfaced. They mentioned the incident was much like when Yarbrough’s son had damaged his foot earlier that 12 months and nobody might work out why.

The Littleton Public Schools transportation division is contracted to bus the scholars to the non-public faculty, which serves college students on the autism spectrum.

One of the felony assault expenses that Jones pleaded responsible to names Yarbrough’s son as a sufferer, in accordance with the plea deal doc.

Eight felony assault expenses and one misdemeanor baby abuse cost named Vestal’s son, in accordance with the doc. One felony assault cost and one misdemeanor baby abuse cost named a 3rd sufferer.

Each of the felony counts Jones pleaded responsible to carries a most sentence of 18 months in jail, Ross mentioned.

If she receives the utmost sentence for every of the ten assault expenses throughout her March 18th sentencing listening to, Jones might spend 15 years in jail.

“As a mom, nothing would ever be good enough, but, realistically, that’s the best case scenario for this,” Vestal mentioned. “There’s not a prison sentence in the world that would make me and my heart feel that it’s good enough.”

Jones’ sentencing date falls on the second anniversary of the final time she abused Vestal’s son, marking a full circle second for the case, Vestal mentioned. The report Vestal filed the next day kicked off the chain of occasions that led to the prison case.

Littleton Public Schools fired Jones on March 19, 2024, after reviewing the recording of the day prior to this’s bus experience, in accordance with the college district.

The video confirmed Jones elbowing the boy within the abdomen, punching him within the head and slamming his face into the bus window. The boy was sitting calmly on the time of the unprovoked assault.

That video was the one one made public, however legal professional Ciara Anderson of Rathod Mohamedbhai LLC mentioned the investigation uncovered days of video of Jones abusing the kids on the bus.

Anderson and her colleague, Qusair Mohamedbhai, are two attorneys representing the households within the pending civil case in opposition to Jones.

“Her conduct was beyond criminal,” Anderson mentioned. “It was cruel, it was chilling, it was inhumane.”

The civil case, which has not been filed as of Monday, in accordance with on-line court docket data, will focus not solely on Jones, however on who put her in that place and allowed the abuse to go on so long as it did, Anderson mentioned.