Polk school bus attendant charged with hitting 11-year-old with belt 9 times in Winter Haven
A Polk County school bus attendant has been charged with felony child abuse after using a belt to hit an 11-year-old boy, according to the Winter Haven Police Department.
Police said in a Thursday morning news release that Loni Covington, 33, of Bartow took a belt from another student, then struck the boy nine times while sitting on top of him in November. She's charged with felony child abuse without bodily harm.
According to police, the child's grandmother and caregiver filed a report on Nov. 17 about this incident and two other incidents involving Covington.
The grandmother, who has custody of three grandchildren, told police in sworn statements that the 11-year-old said Covington flicked him on the ear and neck on Nov. 14. The next day, two of the children told their grandmother that Covington struck the boy with the belt on his side. She took pictures of belt marks on the boy's side and back to provide to Polk County School Transportation.
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Finally, on Nov. 16, one of the other children said Covington grabbed her by the wrists and snatched a picture out of her hand. Additionally, the third child told her grandmother that Covington made the three of them sit together in a single seat designed for two, and when the bus made a turn, the child on the end often fell out of the seat.
After the incidents were reported, police said an investigation revealed that on the day of the reported belt incident, the 11-year-old was standing up while the bus was in motion. Covington saw the child standing and told another student to take off her belt before folding it and hitting the boy nine times, according to police.
On Feb. 28, Covington was questioned by detectives and told them she saw the boy standing and when she told him to sit down, he talked back. She told police she hit the floor and the back of the seat with the belt but didn't recall the belt striking the child.
Detectives said video evidence showed that the belt did hit the boy nine times.
Covington was taken into custody March 6 and remains in the Polk County Jail, according to Winter Haven police spokesperson Jamie Brown.
Polk County Public Schools spokesman Kyle Kennedy said Thursday that as a full-time bus attendant, Covington's job was to assist the bus driver with students. He said she was hired in August 2018 and resigned on Dec. 2 as the district prepared to fire her.
"This is unacceptable behavior for anyone who works with children," the Polk County school district said in a prepared statement. "We appreciate the Winter Haven Police Department for conducting a thorough investigation and helping us protect our students."
This article originally appeared on The Ledger: Winter Haven police say Polk school bus attendant struck boy with belt
