https://www.yahoo.com/news/littleton-bus-aide-fired-students-230200317.html
https://apnews.com/article/autistic-boy-bus-abuse-aide-f20f6454e0de0d2698c873ee81ede735
Assault and battery is a serious crime. Adults can be permanently scarred and even killed in such attacks. But what about children and in particular what about helpless children? In this case, the children were non-verbal autistic children. You get the impression that this savagery was carried out with the expectation that getting caught and being held responsible for these crimes was unlikely.
The story listed second above has a video of the crime. It shows a small child repeatedly pummeled by a full size adult without discernable reason much less a provocation.
From the article:
Jess (the child’s mother) said she noticed strange bumps and bruises on her son months ago, dating back to September 2023. She brought her concerns to staff at The Joshua School, who confirmed with her Dax did not suffer those injuries while in their care. Jess said she then brought her concerns to LPS, but they told her there was nothing to be concerned about. Then, Jess said, her son’s injuries became worse, and she demanded answers from the district.
It seems apparent that the abuse went on for quite some time. The parent began complaining in September. While it was quickly evident that the child had not been abused at school, the black eye, bruises and abrasions should have been enough evidence for the school to have looked further into the matter.
The mother went on to say:
“Although it’s hard to watch, that’s what my child has endured for months due to inaction by Littleton Public Schools,” she said. “He had to live through that every day. The least we can do is bring awareness to a situation that is unfortunately more common than you would think. There needs to be change.”
There are current charges filed but I think we are at the very beginning of the case. I assume they will be reviewing the bus videos back as far as they can and when they do, they will find out how many victims there were and what kids of abuse were inflicted. It is also possible that abuse may have happened elsewhere. So, the final charges are likely to be much more numerous and serious.
However, I believe the school district’s apparent failure to investigate the injuries in a timely manner makes them civilly very vulnerable.
Author’s Note: Ordinarily I would do a business ethics analysis of the case. But this isn’t a case where honest observers differ. This clearly monstrous behavior, a savage assault on a number of children doesn’t fall into any sort of a gray area. When the ethics problem is right in front of you and enraging, there is little need for further comment.
James Alan Pilant
Pilant's Business Ethics Blog 