Florida teaching assistant accused of smacking special-needs student with shoe repeatedly, deputies say
Michael Jones is a teaching assistant at East Ridge High School. He was arrested for child abuse and simple battery after allegedly smacking a student repeatedly with his shoe. Credit: Lake County Sheriff's Office
LAKE COUNTY, Fla. - A Florida teaching assistant was arrested for allegedly hitting a special needs student with a shoe several times and dragging him across the floor, according to the Lake County Sheriff's Office.
Florida teaching assistant arrested, accused of hitting student with shoe
The backstory:
Michael Jones, a teaching assistant at East Ridge High School, was arrested by Lake County deputies on Oct 14, 2026. Jones was arrested on two counts of child abuse and simple battery, according to the Lake County Sheriff's Office.
According to the arrest affidavit, Jones is accused of pushing a student, causing them to fall to the ground, removing the student's shoe and repeatedly hitting them with it.
The alleged incident was captured on the school's surveillance video, and on the cellphone of another student.
The video, according to authorities, appears to show Jones and the student in a physical confrontation. The video shows the student fall backwards through a doorway and onto the floor. As the student was lying on the floor, Jones allegedly pulled the student's shoe off and hit him four times — twice on his bottom, once on his head, and once on his arm.
Video from another student's cell phone then allegedly showed Jones dragging the student and attempting to pick him up off the floor, where Jones then hit the student again with the shoe, the affidavit said. The student fell to the ground again, and Jones continued to hit him with the shoe, officials said.
Affidavit: Teaching assistant admits why he hit the student
The other side:
In an interview with a Lake County deputy, Jones stated the student said the word "gay," and that he told the student that he could not use the word. Jones alleged the student then spit on him.
"Without question, I took his shoe off and spanked him with it," Jones reportedly said, estimating that he hit the student about three times, according to the arrest affidavit.
The deputy asked if Jones was aware that the student had special needs. "All of them that we work with is special needs, but he understands what's going on," he said, according to the affidavit.
District: Jones is not allowed back on school grounds
What they're saying:
A spokesperson for Lake County School confirmed to FOX 35 that Jones faces possible termination. That spokesperson said he is not allowed to return to campus, and that the school board will move forward with terminating him at their next school board meeting on Oct. 26.
The Source: Information for this article was gathered from a Lake County Sheriff's Office arrest affidavit, body camera footage, and details from a spokesperson for Lake County Public Schools.