KISSIMMEE — An elementary school assistant teacher was arrested on Thursday and now faces child abuse charges after Kissimmee police detectives say witnesses saw him violently shake a six-year-old special needs child.
Franklin Santos Jr., 26, was transported to the Osceola County Jail where he is being held on $1,000 bond.
Stacie Miller, who handles media relations for the Kissimmee Police Department, noted in her report that around 1:45 p.m. on Thursday, the department got a call from Flora Ridge Elementary School about a student that had been abused.
Officers got to the school and met with the worker who had witnessed the incident that led to the arrest.
“The witness stated that as the students from a special needs class entered the cafeteria, the teacher’s assistant, identified as 26-year-old Franklin Santos Jr., instructed the victim to pick up a tray,” Miller wrote in her report. “The victim refused and threw herself on the floor.”
According to the witness, Miller reported, “Santos Jr. picked up the child off the floor and started shaking the victim violently.”
The child, Miller added, did not appear to have sustained any injuries during this incident.
Detectives met with Santos at the Police Department, and reported that he did not cooperate with the investigation.
“Through the course of the investigation, detectives obtained probable cause to charge Franklin Santos with child abuse when he grabbed the 6-year-old student and shook her repeatedly in an aggressive manner that could reasonably be expected to result in physical injury to a child,” Miller noted.
The incident is also being investigated by the Family Department of Families and Children.

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