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Misdemeanor charges filed against former Lompoc Unified School District employee

Posted at 1:40 PM, Nov 13, 2018
and last updated 2018-11-13 16:41:34-05

Misdemeanor charges have been filed against a former Lompoc Unified School District employee accused of abusing a 10-year-old special needs child.

Court records show Arthur Carlos, 52, of Santa Maria, was charged with misdemeanor child abuse and misdemeanor unlawful corporal punishment. The charges were filed on November 8.

Carlos appeared in court on Tuesday, but his arraignment was continued to November 27.

Arthur Carlos

 

He didn’t enter a plea, and according to jail logs, he is now out of custody on his own recognizance.

The Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office says the alleged incident happened on October 16. A child came home from school and told his parents an aide on the school bus had hurt him.

Sheriff’s deputies say the parents reported the incident to the school district, which reviewed bus surveillance video and shared it with the parents. The incident was later reported to the Sheriff’s Office. Investigators announced the arrest on October 26.

The Sheriff’s Office says the video showed Carlos using excessive force to restrain the child, including putting his hands around the child’s neck and pushing his head against the window.

Investigators say Carlos was a newly-hired school district employee at the time of the incident but has since been let go.