ENGLEWOOD, Colo. (Court TV) — A woman who worked as a bus aide for children with special needs in Colorado was fired and faces charges after a video appears to show her attacking the children she was supposed to protect.
Kiarra Jones, seen here in a booking photo, is accused of assaulting children she was charged to protect on a school bus. (Arapahoe County Sheriff’s Office)
Kiarra Jones, 29, is facing felony charges for behavior that investigators say was recorded by surveillance video on a school bus where the attacks happened. Court TV obtained the shocking video, as well as photos documenting alleged injuries suffered by the children from attorneys that three victims’ families have hired to represent them in the case.
Editor’s note: The victims’ families have asked that their last names not be used, citing privacy concerns.
Jones is accused of assaulting multiple children, described as non-verbal, with autism and requiring full-time caretakers for basic needs. While paperwork obtained by Court TV is redacted, it indicates each of the children has an “intellectual and developmental disability.”
Each of the victims attends the Joshua School and rides a special needs bus provided by the Littleton Public School system to take them to school from home, attorneys for the families said. On March 18, a parent noticed bruises on their child’s foot that had not been present previously and called the Littleton School District’s transportation director to review surveillance footage from the bus ride.
After reviewing the footage, portions of which were shared with Court TV, the transportation director contacted police, who opened an investigation. Investigators were specifically given footage from three dates: Feb. 13, 2024, Mar. 1, 2024, and Mar. 18, 2024. An arrest affidavit obtained by Court TV details abuse lasting nearly 30 minutes on the bus ride.
14:51:54: Kiarra sits in the same seat as (redacted) and forcefully pushes (redacted) head down towards the floor.
14:54:55: Kiarra looks towards the bus driver and then hits (redacted) in the mouth with the back of her right hand. … (redacted) appears to be scared.
14:59:45: Kiarra looks towards the bus driver, and she hits (redacted) in the mouth with the closed fist of her right hand. The punch is so hard (redacted) head goes back and hits the seat.
15:03:51 Kiarra then grabs (redacted) by the jaw, reaches behind (redacted) head, and forcefully pushes (redacted) down. Once (redacted) head is down, she punches (redacted) in the back with a closed fist.
The detective noted multiple instances of Jones “kicking or stepping on” the child, as well.
Court TV was able to review a video of the bus ride on Mar. 18, 2024, where Jones appears to elbow a young child multiple times and seems to step on his foot as well. Attorneys for the families said the video “reveals the LPS bus aide’s indescribable malice. Video reveals her repeatedly hitting, punching, and stomping on a fragile 10-year-old boy. These unprovoked attacks on a defenseless, severely disabled child are sickening.”
The victims’ families said they first noticed a change in their children’s behavior in Sept. 2023 and raised their concerns with the school. “As early as January 2024, the Joshua School raised its strong belief that abuse was occurring on the bus with LPS … LPS looked at a single bus ride and determined there was nothing to be concerned about and provided no further monitoring, allowing months of uninterrupted abuse to continue,” the attorneys said in a statement.
Edgewood police said that Jones was arrested on April 4 and left jail after making her first appearance in court and posting a $5,000 bond. She is due back in court for a preliminary hearing on May 3.
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