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DELTONA, Fla. (WESH ) — A teacher’s assistant at Deltona High School has bonded out of jail, accused of slapping a student with special needs.
Investigators say the actual classroom teacher witnessed the alleged abuse.
The accused teacher’s assistant was hired in January 2016 to work with special needs students at Deltona High School. On Monday, investigators say a witness saw her slap a 16-year-old student in the face while changing him in the bathroom.
Patricia Reynolds, 71, was arrested Tuesday and charged with felony child abuse. According to the report, the victim is a special needs student who is non-verbal and suffers from Down syndrome and is autistic.
Reynolds was allegedly attending to the student in the bathroom when the classroom teacher walked in to help and saw Reynolds slap the student. According to the report, when Reynolds turned around and noticed the teacher, Reynolds said, “I’m sorry. I lost my temper.”
Reynolds was at her Orange City home after bonding out of jail, but told WESH 2 News that she was advised not to comment, however, according to the report, Reynolds showed investigators injuries that she allegedly suffered involving the teen student.
Reynolds said one large bruise on her arm was from last week and two bruises were from November 5. Reynolds also showed the deputy her right pinky finger, which was swollen.
Some parents at the school were not particularly sympathetic.
“In this day and age, you can’t really do that to somebody else’s child. If you are having trouble handling the situation then you need to get assistance,” one parent said.
Reynolds is on paid leave pending the outcome of the investigation.
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