Inset: James Savage (Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office). Background: Surveillance footage showing James Savage on a Hillsborough County Public School Bus in Florida during his alleged assault on an autistic child (HCSO/YouTube).
A Florida school bus aide was caught on camera pummeling a "nonverbal autistic" 9-year-old while he was "harnessed" to a seat, leading to a felony charge of child abuse, cops say.
Surveillance footage captured inside of a Hillsborough County Public Schools bus shows James Savage, 79, allegedly attacking the boy "intentionally and willfully" on Friday afternoon, according to an arrest affidavit.
Police arrested Savage less than three hours later after the child's mother came forward and reported "concerns" that her "nonverbal autistic son may have been struck on the school bus by his aide," according to a Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office press release. The boy attends an elementary school in Ruskin.
"The defendant was acting in [a] caregiving role when he intentionally and willfully slapped the victim on [the boy's] left hand," the affidavit says. "The defendant then took off his baseball style cap and smacked the victim on the left side of face. This took place all while the victim was harnessed to a bus seat."
Police reported observing "red linear markings" on the child's hand and the video from the school bus allegedly corroborated his mother's allegations. "These acts were intentional, malicious, and done against the victim's will," the affidavit concludes. "The victim is non-verbal, autistic and below the age of eighteen."
Savage was taken into custody following a short investigation and arrested on a felony charge of child abuse. Prosecutors have asked that he be held without bond; a pretrial detention hearing is scheduled for Tuesday.
"Based on the defendant's past and present patterns of behavior … no conditions of release or bail will reasonably protect the community from risk of physical harm, ensure the presence of the defendant at trial, or assure the integrity of the judicial process," a motion for pretrial detention reads.
In a statement about Savage's arrest, Hillsborough County Sheriff Chad Chronister said, "Any form of abuse against a child is completely unacceptable. Children deserve to feel safe at all times, especially in the care of those entrusted with their well-being. Protecting our most vulnerable is a responsibility we will never take lightly, and those who violate that trust will face the consequences."
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