Ex-Littleton Bus Aide Pleads Guilty in Abuse Case Involving Nonverbal Student

A former Littleton bus aide pleaded guilty to more than 10 child abuse charges almost two years after a video captured her striking a nonverbal student on a school bus.

Kiarra Jones, 29, pleaded guilty to 12 counts on Monday in an Arapahoe County District Court arising out of the abuse of three non-verbal autistic children in Littleton Public Schools between 2023 and 2024, according to a news release from Rathod Mohamedbhai, the law firm representing the parents.

The charges included 10 felony counts for abusing at-risk children and two misdemeanor counts of child abuse. One count of the 13 charges she was facing was dismissed as part of the plea deal.

Jones began working on a bus route for The Joshua School, a school for students with autism and severe disabilities, in August 2023. In September, three students began showing “unexplained behavior changes and physical injuries, including a fractured bone, limping, unexplained scratches, a lost tooth, a black eye and deep bruises on their bodies and feet,” the law firm said.

The mother of 10-year-old Dax Vestal requested a surveillance video review on March 18, 2024, leading to Littleton Public Schools officials reviewing footage between February and March and seeing Jones repeatedly hitting children. Jones was arrested in April that year.

The mother, Jess Vestal, then accused the school district of being slow to respond and released the video to the media.

“What was done to our son was not a mistake, not a lapse in judgment, and not an accident. It was blatant, cruel, and carried out without an ounce of humanity,” the Vestal family said in the news release.

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