Inset: Michael Jones (Lake County Jail). Background: East Ridge High School in Florida, where Jones allegedly struck a student (WESH).
A 66-year-old teaching assistant in Florida is accused of physically abusing a student who has special needs, allegedly using the victim's own shoe to repeatedly strike him and then dragging him on the floor by his feet.
Michael Anthony Jones was arrested Wednesday and charged with one count each of cruelty toward a child by child abuse without great bodily harm and simple battery, court records show.
The alleged altercation occurred at East Ridge High School on the morning of Oct. 14 and was documented in school surveillance footage and a cellphone video recorded by another student.
According to a probable cause affidavit obtained by Law&Crime, a student approached a Lake County Sheriff's Office deputy assigned to the school and showed him a cellphone video allegedly depicting Jones "involved in a physical altercation with a student."
The assistant principal provided school camera footage that allegedly showed Jones and the student walking toward a doorway in the gymnasium. They were briefly out of frame before the student can be seen "falling backwards away from the doorway."
The affidavit describes the footage:
You can then see Mr. Jones moving toward [the student] who is now lying on the ground. [The student] puts his feet up in an effort to keep Mr. Jones away from him. You can then see Mr. Jones pulling one of [the student's] shoes off and striking [the student] approximately four times. Twice on his bottom, once on what appears to be [the student's] head and once on [the student's] right arm. You then see Mr. Jones grabbing [the student] and dragging him along the floor as he attempts to pick him up off the ground.
The school camera footage then lost sight of Jones and the student, according to the affidavit. A cellphone video recorded by another student captured what the school cameras missed.
The student's video allegedly showed the victim getting up and appearing to "cower before Mr. Jones." Jones appears to strike him again, sending the student to the ground, before grabbing him and dragging him up from the floor a second time, the affidavit states.
During an interview with deputies, Jones allegedly defended his actions. From the affidavit:
Mr. Jones stated that [the student] had used the word "gay" and that he told [the student] that he could not use the word "gay." Mr. Jones then stated that [the student] spit on him, and that "without question, I took his shoe off and spanked [him] with it." I asked Mr. Jones if he could tell me approximately how many times and where he had struck [the student] and he stated that it was three maybe four times, and that he had struck [the student] on his leg and arm.
Jones denied punching or pushing the student after the student had gotten back up, according to the affidavit. He said he "may have touched" the student, causing him to fall backward.
A deputy also asked Jones whether he knew the student had special needs. Jones responded, "all of them that we work with is special needs, but he understands what's going on," according to the affidavit.
Lake County Schools told Orlando Fox affiliate WOFL that Jones would not be allowed back on campus and could be terminated at an upcoming school board meeting.
Jones had worked for the district since 2008, according to a report from Orlando NBC affiliate WESH. The station also reported that the district issued him a written reprimand in 2017 for using inappropriate language in front of students.
After being booked into the Lake County Jail, Jones posted bond of $11,000 and was released Thursday afternoon, records show. It was not immediately clear when Jones was next due in court.