A school bus attendant was charged with child abuse after police say she used a belt to strike a student multiple times on the bus, according to a Florida police department.
The child’s grandmother filed a report on Nov. 17 after she saw belt marks on her 11-year-old grandchild’s side and back, according to a statement from the Winter Haven Police Department.
The woman’s three grandchildren, all of whom ride the same bus, had complained multiple times about the bus attendant’s treatment, according to police. When they got off the bus on Nov. 14, her 11-year-old grandson told her that the bus attendant “flicked” him on the ear and neck while he was on the bus, the statement says.
The following day, the grandchildren told their grandmother that the attendant had beat the 11-year-old with a belt, police said. She saw the marks on his body and took pictures of them to send to the Polk County Schools transportation department, police said.
On Nov. 16 when the children got off the bus again, one of the other grandchildren told her grandmother that the bus attendant had grabbed her by the wrists and “snatched” a picture out of her hand, the statement says.
The child also said that the bus attendant would make all three of the grandchildren sit on the same seat, which is only designed for two students, police said. Every time the bus would turn or stop, the child on the edge of the seat would fall off, the statement says.
After the grandmother reported the incidents, detectives found that on Nov. 15, the bus attendant, Loni Covington, saw the 11-year-old child standing up while the bus was in motion, according to police. She told another student to take off her belt, then used it to hit the 11-year-old nine times while “sitting on top of him,” the statement says.
Detectives interviewed Covington on Feb. 28, and she told them that the 11-year-old had “talked back to her,” police said. She said that she used the belt to hit the floor and back of the seat but “didn’t recall” ever striking the child, according to the police statement.
Detectives later found video that showed the belt hitting the child nine times, according to police.
Covington, 33, was arrested on March 6 and charged with one count of felony child abuse, police said.
A spokesman for Polk County Public Schools did not respond to a request for comment from McClatchy News.
In a statement sent through the police department, the Polk County School Board called Covington’s behavior “unacceptable.”
“We appreciate the Winter Haven Police Department for conducting a thorough investigation and helping us protect our students,” the statement says.
Winter Haven is about 50 miles southwest of Orlando.