A paraprofessional has been accused of abusing autistic students at a local school.
Deborah Michelle Rand, 54, of Belleview, was arrested Monday following allegations raised by a kindergarten teacher at Harbor View Elementary School in Summerfield.
The teacher said that Rand, who stands 5 feet six inches tall and weighs 270 pounds, struck a boy “who was not listening,” according to an arrest report from the Marion County Sheriff’s Office. The boy was “crying because it was hurting him.”
In addition, Rand grabbed a girl by her wrist and “pressed her fingernail on her,” leaving a mark.
Both children are “diagnosed autistic and non-verbal,” the report noted. Their guardians were contacted by school officials and made aware of the situation.
Rand denied the allegations and claimed she was “snatching something out of the juvenile’s mouth, that was not edible.”
Rand was arrested on a charge of battery. She was booked at the Marion County Jail where she was initially held without bond.
