VALPARAISO, Fla. (WDNews) — An Okaloosa County school paraprofessional has been arrested following an investigation into an alleged child abuse incident involving a 5-year-old student at Lewis School.
According to the Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Office, a school resource officer was notified Sept. 4 of an allegation involving 46-year-old Heather Bildstein, an education support staff member at Lewis School.
Investigators allege Bildstein struck a 5-year-old autistic student in the face with an open hand.
According to the investigation, the incident happened after the child struck Bildstein in the face, knocking off her glasses. Investigators said Bildstein denied striking the child and told them she stopped before making contact.
However, two witnesses gave separate statements to investigators. According to the sheriff’s office, both witnesses reported seeing Bildstein’s hand make contact with the child’s face and said the strike was hard enough to cause the child’s head to turn.
No visible injuries were observed following the incident, according to the sheriff’s office.
Bildstein was arrested and charged with child abuse without great harm.
The Okaloosa County School District placed Bildstein on administrative leave and is cooperating with the investigation.
Okaloosa County School District Superintendent Marcus Chambers released the following statement:
“We take the protection of our students’ health, safety, and welfare seriously. As soon as the district became aware of the incident, we followed our established policies and procedures, and we immediately placed the employee on administrative leave. We have been working with the Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Office throughout this matter and will fully cooperate with law enforcement and any applicable investigation.
“Because of student privacy laws, including FERPA, we cannot discuss specific details. When it comes to our students’ well-being, we expect our employees to uphold the highest standards of professionalism, and any breach of those standards is unacceptable. As I have emphasized, individuals will be held accountable if they fail to meet the expectations we’ve set.
“At the same time, I want to recognize the thousands of dedicated educators and support staff who show up every day with a genuine commitment to our students. They care deeply about the children they serve and work tirelessly to help them learn, grow, and succeed.”
