A 66-year-old teaching assistant at East Ridge High School in Clermont has been arrested on child abuse and battery charges after deputies said an arrest affidavit accused him of punching a special-needs student four times while the student lay on the ground. Cellphone video reportedly showed him grabbing and dragging the student along the floor. Michael Jones worked at the Lake County campus and has been with the district since 2008.
According to the WESH 2 News, Jones was arrested after what the Lake County Sheriff's Office described as a physical altercation with a student with special needs. An arrest affidavit obtained by the station accuses Jones of pushing and punching the student, striking them four times while they were already on the ground.
Footage reviewed by the sheriff's office reportedly shows Jones grabbing the student and dragging them along the floor while the student was down, the station reports. Jones, for his part, denied punching the student to deputies, telling investigators in the arrest report that he may have merely touched the student, causing them to fall backward onto the ground — a direct conflict between his account and what the video allegedly shows.
District Moves to Cut Ties
Lake County Schools confirmed that Jones will not return to the East Ridge High campus, and a district spokesperson said the agency plans to terminate his employment at the next school board meeting on October 25, per the same report. Jones previously received a written reprimand in 2017 for using inappropriate language in front of students, according to Lake County Schools.
Jones is now charged with child abuse under Florida Statutes Section 827.03 and battery under Florida Statutes Section 784.03.
Not an Isolated Incident in Lake County
This is not the first time a Lake County special-needs instructional aide has faced child abuse allegations this year. In May, 60-year-old teacher's assistant Mark McArthy was arrested after deputies said hallway video showed him pushing and grabbing a nonverbal special-needs student at Lake Hills School, according to WKMG ClickOrlando.
Clermont's East Ridge High School has seen prior staff misconduct cases as well. Back in May 2019, a 37-year-old teacher at the school was arrested by Lake County Sheriff's deputies following allegations of inappropriate physical touching involving students, as reported by WFTV.
The pattern extends beyond Lake County. In March, a lawsuit alleged that a special-needs teacher's aide bit an autistic student, Orlando parents say aide bit student. And in May 2025, a Vero Beach preschool teacher was arrested on child abuse charges after classroom video showed her dragging a 4-year-old autistic student across the floor — a case in which, as in Jones's, video evidence contradicted the educator's initial account of the incident.
Even so, the district has reported gains for its special-needs students. Lake County Schools said in January that its graduation rate for Exceptional Student Education students reached 83 percent for the prior academic year, a 4 percentage point increase, while the district's overall graduation rate hit a record 94 percent.
Jones's case now heads toward separate tracks: the school board's termination vote on October 25 and criminal charges of child abuse and battery.
