LARGO, Fla. (WFLA) — A substitute classroom assistant is facing charges after Pinellas County deputies said he hit a child with autism with a lunch box, leaving a welt on the child's forehead.

David Jones, 65, was arrested and charged with child abuse following the Sept. 15 incident at Oakhurst Elementary School, according to the Pinellas County Sheriff's Office.

Jones was assigned to a special needs classroom, and investigators said the incident happened just after lunch.

A 6-year-old child, who is autistic and semi-verbal, was hitting and kicking "as a sign of communication," the sheriff's office said. Jones then swung a lunch box and struck the 6-year-old child in the face, according to officials.

Deputies said there was a metal canister inside the lunch box. The force from the hit

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