JACKSONVILLE, Fla. \u2014 A Duval County paraprofessional is being charged with child abuse for yelling, grabbing, shoving and spanking special needs children in a classroom at a local school, police said.<\/p>\n
An arrest report did not name the school, but said that teacher\u2019s aide Jeanette Lynn Akers, 64, abused the children who have \u201climited to non-verbal communications skills\u201d in May.<\/p>\n
Akers was booked into Duval County Jail on Wednesday on four counts of third-degree felony child abuse.<\/p>\n
According to an arrest report from the Jacksonville Sheriff\u2019s Office, a witness described several incidents in which Akers verbally and physically abused students that were in her care in a classroom.<\/p>\n
In one instance, Akers grabbed a student\u2019s arms and shoved the student into a chair while yelling \u201cstay put.\u201d <\/p>\n
Another time, she spanked a student on the child\u2019s buttocks. When the student fought back, she placed the child in a chair in the corner, and kept shoving the students back into the chair when the child tried to get up.<\/p>\n
On another occasion, Akers allegedly used a rolled up paper packet to hit children on their heads, shoulders and upper backs. When a student screamed, she told them to \u201cshut up\u201d, drew her arm back, and hit the child again.<\/p>\n
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