PARKERSBURG — A Martin Elementary School aide had not been at the school or in the classroom for three weeks prior to being charged with battery and assault of a disabled child, a school district official said Monday.

According to a criminal complaint filed in Wood County Magistrate Court, Ryan E. Gaston, no age or address listed, was arraigned March 30 on the felony count and released on a $25,000 surety bond.

“He has not been in the classroom or at the school since March 9,” said Michael Erb, coordinator of communications for Wood County Schools.

The criminal complaint says Gaston was acting as the aide for a student who started acting out on March 7. Although it notes Gaston is trained in “nonviolent crisis intervention” techniques, it says he grabbed the student by his arm and slung him down in a chair and yanked his head back by the hair. The student got out of his seat multiple times and Gaston allegedly either forced him back into the chair by his head or slung him down on a mat on the floor.

For more than an hour, Gaston allegedly forced the victim to the floor and sometimes held him down. At some point, the boy suffered a half-inch gash on his face, the complaint says.

Parkersburg Police were notified of the incident by the school district, Police Lt. J.M. Stalnaker said. Video footage from the classroom was reviewed as part of the investigation.

The charge of battery and assault of a disabled child was established by the West Virginia Legislature as part of the Special Protections for Disabled Children Act of 2022.

“It’s a relatively new charge,” Stalnaker said.

The complaint did not list an attorney for Gaston.

Evan Bevins can be reached at ebevins@newsandsentinel.com.