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ST. GEORGE — A man who was employed at a residential treatment center for boys was arrested Tuesday after police say he engaged in a physical altercation with a 16-year-old student at the facility, which resulted in the teenager receiving a serious head injury, according to a police affidavit.
Antonio M. Ross-Jones, 23, of St. George, was arrested on suspicion of child abuse - intentionally or knowingly, in relation to the incident. According to the affidavit filed in 5th District Court Tuesday, the altercation happened on Aug. 3 at an unnamed treatment center in Washington County.
The affidavit doesn’t say how the incident started, but it was caught on surveillance cameras.
“The juvenile male student appeared to be thrown to the ground on two separate occasions while being held in a chokehold-style restraint,” police wrote in the affidavit. “He was also 'slammed' against the countertop as Antonio phrased it. The second time that the student appeared to be thrown down, Antonio stated he was holding the student and just let him go. The student hit his head on the tile flooring which resulted in the injury.”
The affidavit said the student’s injury was serious enough that he received “11 staples to the back of his head.”
Authorities interviewed Ross-Jones Tuesday morning, and he explained what was happening on the video to officers, according to the document. The affidavit stated that treatment center officials told authorities that Ross-Jones did not follow the training for retraining a child. It continued to state that Ross-Jones “admitted during the interview he could have asked for help and did not restrain as taught” and that he “accepts responsibility for his actions.”
His employment status with the treatment center wasn’t immediately clear in the document.
Following the interview with Washington County sheriff’s deputies, Ross-Jones was arrested and booked into Purgatory Correctional Facility. Online jail records show he was released from custody on a $10,000 bond.
Court records show Ross-Jones did not have a major criminal history before his arrest on Tuesday.
