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Loudoun County teacher assistant arrested for hitting child in classroom

Investigators say the child received minor injuries during the assault.

LOUDOUN COUNTY, Va. — Deputies say a Loudoun County teacher assistant has been arrested after hitting a student in a classroom earlier this week. 

According to a release from the Loudoun County Sheriff’s Office, the alleged assault happened at Belmont Ridge Middle School on Feb. 8. Deputies claim the teacher assistant struck the child in the morning inside a classroom.

The teacher assistant, 34-year-old Joshua F. Simons, turned himself in to officials and was arrested. Investigators say Simons is responsible for the victim’s care and created or inflicted, threatened to create or inflict, or allowed to be created or inflicted upon the child a physical or mental injury by other than accidental means, which is a misdemeanor. 

Investigators say the child received minor injuries during the assault. Their identity will not be released in order to protect their identity. 

Simons has been released on a personal recognizance bond. 

In a letter to parents, school officials said Simons has been on administrative leave since the incident. 

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