A campus monitor at Poinciana High School was arrested Tuesday after deputies say he grabbed a 14-year-old student by the collar, pushed him against a golf cart and held him against a wall for several minutes during a dispute over a confiscated cellphone. John Carrasquillo, 62, was booked into the Osceola County Jail on a third-degree felony charge of child abuse without great bodily harm, and a judge granted him a $500 bond the next day.
The confrontation started shortly after lunch on Tuesday when Carrasquillo confiscated the student's cellphone and put it in his pocket, according to the Osceola County Sheriff's Office, as reported by FOX 35 Orlando. The student asked for the phone back and allegedly reached toward Carrasquillo's pocket, though surveillance video reviewed by the outlet showed the teen did not actually reach into it. Deputies say Carrasquillo then grabbed the student's collar and pushed him against a nearby golf cart before holding him against a wall until a school resource officer arrived. Other students recorded the aftermath on their phones, and officials say the teen did not react aggressively during the encounter and was not seriously injured.
Carrasquillo was in his second school year as a campus monitor at Poinciana High School when the incident occurred, according to a spokesperson for the School District of Osceola County cited by WKMG News 6. His coaching status was not addressed in the cited reports. The district has barred him from campus and from any role involving contact with students while the investigation continues.
Court Records Detail Carrasquillo's Own Account
At his first court appearance, which FOX 35's Marie Edinger attended, prosecutors asked a judge to order Carrasquillo to have no contact with anyone under 18. The judge declined that broader request but did order him to have no contact with the victim and barred him from alcohol, drugs or access to weapons as conditions of his release.
According to the probable cause statement filed with the Osceola County Clerk of Court and reviewed by Edinger, Carrasquillo was shown the surveillance footage and allegedly admitted it did not look good. Court records also indicate he acknowledged that a parent would likely want to press criminal charges against him. The station's report notes that detectives found the student suffered no reported physical injuries, though investigators moved forward with the felony charge based on the video evidence and witness statements.
Duties Explicitly Exclude Discipline
Job descriptions published by Osceola County Schools state that campus monitors are hired to ensure the safety of students and staff, monitor school grounds, protect property and prevent disruptions — but the role explicitly does not involve administering student discipline. The postings show monitors must complete restraint training within their first 90 days on the job.
The case highlights friction created by Florida's 2023 statewide classroom cellphone ban, enacted under House Bill 379, which requires teachers to designate device storage during instructional time. The ban's effect on suspension rates and disciplinary encounters is not established here.
Second Osceola Monitor Case in Months
Carrasquillo's arrest follows heightened scrutiny of school support staff in the county after Osceola County deputies arrested Justice Williams Jones, a former campus monitor at nearby Liberty High School, in May on charges including attempted sexual battery of a student — a case Hoodline covered in its report on the ex-monitor's arrest after a chase. In March, administrators at Discovery Intermediate School in Poinciana confiscated a knife from a student following an anonymous tip, prompting district disciplinary procedures under the county's code of student conduct.
The case involves a child-abuse charge under Florida Statute 827.03. It remains unresolved whether the State Attorney's Office will formally file charges, and open questions remain about how far campus monitors' authority extends when confiscating personal property or physically restraining students during non-emergency disputes.
