Surveillance, cellphone video shows bus aide attacking 9-year-old girl
By Tavares Jones, Aaron Page
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PORT ST. LUCIE, Florida (WSVN) — A school bus aide is under fire after he was caught on camera allegedly attacking a nine-year-old student with special needs.
The police chief says the girl’s older sister recorded the video, and the aide in question is now facing the consequences of his actions.
“I think it would make any parent feel angry,” said Chief Leo Niemczyk of the Port St. Lucie Police Department.
The video, taken on a Northport K-8 school bus last week, shows Avieser Pinillos, a bus aide, shoving down a nine-year-old girl with special needs down in a bus seat.
He was then seen appearing to shake and scream at her.
The bus’s surveillance camera also captured the disturbing moments.
“I can’t explain why people do the things that they do. You know, I don’t know what was going on in his mind. I suppose that it’s probably a challenging day for him. And he reacted poorly,” Chief Niemczyk said. “I describe it as aggressive. I think you could describe it as violent. He clearly lost his temper, and it’s completely unacceptable.”
According to court documents, police spoke to one of the children who witnessed the altercation, saying Pinillos gave the girl one verbal command to sit down before the situation turned physical.
That witness also said it wasn’t the first incident between Pinillos and the victim; however, it was worse compared to previous times.
According to the police chief, the girl suffered some red marks around her neck and shoulders; however, there were no serious injuries.
“Probably any reasonable adult would feel angry seeing one of our most vulnerable members of a society victimized in that way,” said Chief Niemczyk.
Pinillos has since been charged with one count of child abuse and, according to the St. Lucie County School District, has been removed from his role.
The county is also considering termination.
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