LITTLETON, Colo. — A bus aide accused of assaulting special needs children on a school bus in Littleton pleaded not guilty to nearly a dozen charges Monday.
Kiarra Jones pleaded not guilty to nine counts of third-degree assault against at-risk minors and two counts of child abuse during her arraignment in Arapahoe County District Court.
She has a pretrial scheduled for February.
Video from a school bus shows her repeatedly hitting a nonverbal boy as he was strapped into a harness. That video prompted Englewood Police to arrest her April 4 on suspicion of felony assault.
Prosecutors filed a motion in May to add 10 additional charges, bringing to total to 11.
A law firm that represents at least two families whose children ride the bus released video in April showing Jones sitting next to a boy who is 10 years old. Jones appears to elbow the boy in the midsection and then strike him in the face with her fist. Then Jones appears to stomp on his feet.
The law firm said that each family saw "significant shifts" in their child’s behavior around September of last year, about a month after the Littleton Public School District said Jones was hired. They also noticed physical injuries that included unexplained scratches, bruises, a lost tooth, a broken toe, a black eye, and other deep bruises on their bodies and feet.
In a communication to families, the district said Jones was hired in August 2023 after passing a background check and was fired on March 19, the day after the incident. The school district said she had "very limited access" to students during her employment.
Janet Oravetz contributed to this report.
