VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — Two Virginia Beach parents are suing Virginia Beach Public Schools after they said their child with Down syndrome was assaulted and improperly restrained on a school bus last year.
"It's awful to know that's the environment that our children are being placed in to go to school each day," Antonio Mauro, the father of Giovanni Mauro, said.
Mauro said his nine-year-old son is a student at Virginia Beach Public Schools who is nonverbal and has Down syndrome.
Back on Feb. 23, 2023, Mauro said he requested to look at camera footage from inside his son's bus after he was told his child was misbehaving.
"It was traumatizing we couldn't even watch them [the videos]," Mauro said.
According to a now-filed federal lawsuit against the school system, a former bus aide named Lester Langhorne put his hands on Mauro's son.
The suit claims based on the bus footage, Langhorne forcibly shoved Giovanni into his seat and at one point grabbed him by the throat for no reason.
"He was the one who actually put his hands around my child's throat and chin, he was the one hitting him," Mauro said. "He was the one actually targeting him."
According to the lawsuit, at one point Langhorne speaks to the bus driver, Ralph Denton, about using a seat belt lock on Giovanni.
Denton tells Langhorne there is a restraint in the back of the bus but he is not sure how to use it.
He also allegedly said they are not able to use the restraint without consent from the school.
Before Langhorne puts the restraint on Giovanni, the two adults laugh after Langhorne makes a joke about putting Giovanni in a heavy-duty garment bag and hanging the child up somewhere.
"I can tell you that the case is about what happened, why it shouldn't have happened and what the consequences are going to be," Edwin Booth, one of the family's attorneys, said.
Langhorne was convicted of assault earlier in January.
Booth said this lawsuit is about making sure employees of the school system are trained on using equipment when it's needed and at the same time compensating for the damage done to Giovanni.
"I can tell you, and it's in the complaint, that he is in therapy for what happened to him, he was obviously distraught by what happened to him, and had hands put on him in an inappropriate way," Booth said.
"As a parent, there's an expectation that when your child leaves the front door, they're going to be educated by the school system and they are going to be treated properly and safely," Happy O'Brien, who is also representing the family, said. "That includes the bus transportation to and from."
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Mauro said his son is no longer going to the same elementary school and is no longer riding the bus.
He hopes this lawsuit will make sure this doesn't happen to another family.
"There has to be change, there were multiple things and failures along the way that allowed this to happen, and in order to get effective change this is the avenue," Mauro said.
The school division could not comment on the litigation.
A spokesperson said Langhorne is no longer working for the school division, but Denton is still employed.
The school division could not comment on if Denton is still a driver for that bus.
