A South Bend Community School Corp. bus aide is accused of battering a girl on her bus route.
Carla Chaffee, 68, has been charged with a count of battery on a person less than 14 years of age, according to the South Bend Tribune.
The alleged incident took place on Dec. 14 at Nuner Primary Center. A nine-year-old girl with special needs was reportedly pulled by the arms. Her twin brother told police he saw Chafee “slam her into the seat”, according to court documents.
A teacher told police that she looked in the bus and saw a woman “had her hands on the shoulders of a child” and “was shaking the child.” She also noted the woman had “an angry look on her face,” according to court documents.
Chafee was arrested on Dec. 30. She posted $1,000 bond the same day. Battery on a person less than 14 years old is a Level 6 felony.
1 comment
As a parent of a special needs child, this troubles me beyond comprehension. In fact, we had some negative experiences with a driver in the SBCSC transportation system, and received very little by way of commiseration by the transportation department. There are frequent and helpful and free training sessions provided by IN-Source and the Logan Center on a monthly basis. I highly encourage SBCSC to send any of their staff who work with Special Needs to these classes. It’s free and could only benefit our community as a whole.