The mother of a 10-year-old autistic boy in the Chicago area was horrified to learn what was happening to her son on his way to school and back.
LaBeth Frye explained that starting in October 2019, her son began complaining about his hands hurting when he got home from school. MaCaulay Frye couldn't communicate to his mom the reason why, however.
"As soon as he get off the bus (he would say) "hands hurt, Mom. My hands hurt. Hands hurt. He's non-verbal," she told CBS Chicago.
The complaints continued between that time and February 2020, but LaBeth couldn't wrap her head around the reason why. She reached out to his teachers at Harvard Elementary, but they couldn't provide any further insights, either. Then MaCaulay came home with marks on his wrists.
The marks on his wrists made it appear as though his hands had been tied together during the ride home from school. It was a terrifying observation. "I took a picture and instantly called his teacher, who called the principal and we went from there," she shared.
The Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS) spoke to LaBeth twice. "I told them everything. I needed help. I needed answers."
In June, DCFS contacted LaBeth to inform her there was audio and video of an incident on the bus.
"They just told me, someone watched the video, from CPS and they called the DCFS hotline," LaBeth explained.
"Then she told me this person [the bus attendant] was indicated and doing (pauses) whatever to my son."
"Indicated" is the term used by DCFS to describe allegations found to be true.
"It was like someone hit me in the stomach. I couldn't understand. You mean to tell me she's indicated, after all this time," LaBeth shared.
"That's the last thing I would have thought, especially with cameras and another adult on the bus, the bus driver."
The bus driver was not implicated in the incident. The bus aide was pulled from their position as of February 2020.
