Former Colorado school bus aid pleads guilty to 12 charges related to abusing, assaulting students with autism
A former school bus aide in Colorado pleaded guilty on Monday to 12 out of 13 charges related to allegations that she assaulted three students with autism in 2024.
Kiarra Jones, 30, was arrested in April 2024 and later charged with 10 counts of third-degree assault of an at-risk person, two counts of child abuse causing injury, and one count of child abuse causing serious bodily injury related to the incidents when she worked for Littleton Public Schools. She initially pleaded not guilty to all of the charges.
She pleaded guilty on Monday, the day her trial was supposed to start. Attorneys for the victims' families say the victims were three 10-year-old non-verbal boys with autism. At least one of the incidents was caught on video.
"Today marks a step toward accountability and a step closer to justice and safety for our community. Ms. Jones' actions weren't just criminal, they were cruel," Ciara Anderson, an attorney representing some of the victims' families, said at a news conference after the hearing ended.
Anderson, who works for the law firm Rathod Mohamedbhai LLC, said the families are seeking the maximum prison sentence of 15 years. Anderson estimates a prison sentence of 5 to 7 years, but said it could be more, depending on whether the judge issues consecutive or concurrent sentences for each charge.
When asked for his reaction to the plea, Kevin Yarborough, whose son, Hunter, was one of the victims, said, "mixed emotions to say the least."
"It's frustrating. My son is not able to speak, so I feel my job as a father is to represent him in court, so it is frustrating," he said. "That being said, I am happy that the next step in this process is going forward. I'm happy that after 2 years of delays, she was finally able to take some accountability for what she did to our kids."
"It is frustrating that we don't get that day in court to display what our kids had to go through for everyone to see," said Jessica Vestal, whose son Dax was also one of the victims.
"Between the things that the kids have all experienced with the abuse, today was their first day back at school from winter break," Vestal continued. "Most people have to prep their kids' teachers, like, 'he doesn't like carrots' or 'he didn't sleep well this morning,' we have to let our kids' teachers know what we noticed that's triggering them lately and what things seem to be on the forefront of their minds in terms of the trauma they experienced."
Vestal and her attorneys say they're pursuing legal action against Littleton Public Schools and The Joshua School, and the U.S. Department of Justice has opened an inquiry into the school and school district.
Christopher Gallo, chief deputy district attorney in Arapahoe County, said he was "very happy" with the outcome of the case.
"Any time someone's in a position of trust, in regard to our children, takes accountability and we find justice in that situation, we're always pretty gratified that that's the resolution it comes to," he said. "Any time someone endangers children, when they are charged with keeping those children safe, especially children who have special needs, children who cannot look after themselves, that's always particularly concerning."
Jones is set to be sentenced on March 18. She was represented by the Public Defender's Office.
