A Lompoc Unified School District employee appeared in court Tuesday to face charges he physically abused a special-needs student on a bus last month.
Arthur Leroy Carlos, 52, of Santa Maria was taken into custody Oct. 25 by the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Department.
The incident occurred on a school bus Oct. 16, five days after Carlos began working as a transportation attendant, district officials said.
“The child came home from school crying and told his parents that he had been hurt by an aide on the bus,” said sheriff’s spokeswoman Kelly Hoover. “The parents reported the incident to the Lompoc Unified School District, who subsequently reviewed surveillance video from the bus and shared it with the parents.”
The video reportedly showed Carlos “using excessive force to restrain the child, including putting his hands around his neck and pushing his head against the bus window,” Hoover said.
The parents reported the incident to the Sheriff’s Department, which launched an investigation.
Carlos has been charged with two misdemeanor counts — willful cruelty to a child and corporal punishment resulting in injury, according to Mag Nicola, chief deputy district attorney.
Carlos appeared Tuesday in Superior Court in Lompoc for arraignment before Judge Raimundo Montes de Oca, but the matter was continued until Nov. 27.
“Sheriff’s detectives worked with school officials who provided employee training details, witness/employee information, and a copy of the bus video surveillance recording,” Hoover said. “Detectives reviewed the video recording and determined the Carlos had willfully inflicted inhumane corporal punishment upon the special needs victim.”
Carlos was arrested after he voluntarily went to the Sheriff’s Department to provide a statement to detectives.
He was released from custody on his own recognizance, Nicola said.
— Noozhawk executive editor Tom Bolton can be reached at tbolton@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.