Deputies say Derek Simpson put all of his body weight on the student and pushed the student's head down.

WESLEY CHAPEL, Fla. -- A Tampa man is accused of physically abusing a student with special needs on a Pasco County school bus.

Derek Simpson, 35, an ESC assistant instructor at Wesley Chapel High School, has been charged with two counts of child abuse.

Investigators say he restrained the student with a four-point harness and was caught on camera putting his whole body weight on the child as well as pushing down on the back of the child's head with two hands.

The student has autism, is nonverbal and communicates using sign language. Deputies say Simpson was also seen restraining the student's arms by the wrist.

The student tried multiple times to remove Simpson's arms and began screaming, investigators said. The student suffered back injuries from the incident, according to an arrest affidavit.

Simpson has been booked into the Land O' Lakes Jail. Pasco school officials placed Simpson on paid administrative leave. Officials said the school board would have to meet to vote on suspension without pay.

Pasco schools spokesperson Linda Cobbe said during a news conference Simpson has been with Wesley Chapel High School since April 2017 and was put on that bus with that student after meeting with the student's family on Sept. 6.

"The aide was behaving inappropriately," Cobbe said. "I've seen worse but it doesn't excuse what he was doing to that child."

This set up on the bus was a new thing, Cobbe explained. Simpson had been assigned to the student to ride the bus with him after Simpson had worked with the student in a classroom setting.

Cobbe said Simpson had not been trained for working with students with special needs on buses but had taken the non-violent crisis intervention procedure class for in the classroom situations.

Cobbe said Pasco schools turned the case over to child protective investigators. The school has not interviewed Simpson since the incident.

"It's distressing that we have someone that is trusted to work with vulnerable students who would abuse a student," Cobbe said. "We will not tolerate it. We have zero tolerance for any kind of abuse of a student. The only time you put your hands on a student is to protect others or the student himself."

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