Ohio Teen Charged After Assaulting Special-Needs Student on School Bus

NELSONVILLE, Ohio — A 17-year-old student here has been charged with juvenile delinquency after she reportedly is shown on video hitting a student who has special needs in the face several times while on the school bus.

The incident happened on Oct. 25 on a Nelsonville-York City Schools bus, according to Athens News.

Video of the incident posted on social media shows the student hitting a 14-year-old special-needs student several times in the face as they both stand in the middle aisle of a school bus, the news source reports. In an incident report, obtained by Athens News, the student who was assaulted said she was standing up for a friend who was allegedly being bullied by the 17-year-old.

Athens County Prosecutor Keller Blackburn confirmed on Monday that the student will face a single charge of juvenile delinquency — a charge that would be considered assault if she were an adult, the news source reports. Blackburn also said that the investigation into the incident is ongoing, and that additional charges could be filed against the student or other individuals involved.

Rick Edwards, the superintendent for Nelsonville-York City Schools, added that the district will be conducting its own investigation and that it “will be following the student code of conduct as it comes to discipline.” In addition to the video posted on social media, Edwards told 10TV that there is school bus surveillance video of the incident that "gives more context to the situation" and that the bus driver "did all he could" and was the first to report what happened.

Blackburn expects the student to appear in court in the next 30 days, according to the news source. The Nelsonville Police Department is urging anyone with additional information about the incident to contact Sgt. John Meeks at johnwmeeks@cityofneslsonville.com, according to a post on the department’s Facebook page.

View the full statement from Nelsonville Police Department, posted on its Facebook page, below.