A former Westport Elementary School teacher’s aide faces one count of assault and battery on a special needs student, after a Fall River District Court magistrate ruled last week that there is probable cause to move ahead with a charge in the incident that allegedly occurred early last November.

Bethany Bronhard, 44, of Westport, will be arraigned on the charge on Thursday, April 2. The magistrate ruled there was not enough evidence to support a second possible count of assault and battery.

According to a Westport police narrative on file with the district court, the alleged assault occurred just before 10 a.m. Wednesday, Nov. 5, 2025.

According to patrol officer Sarah Pacheco, video captured by elementary school cameras showed Bronhard dragging a male third grade student, 8 years old, down the hallway by his feet.

“The video captures (the boy) running down the hallway away from Ms. Bronhard and his classroom,” Pacheco writes. “It then shows Ms. Bronhard chasing after (the boy). Bronhard then holds (the boy) by his two legs and pulls him down approximately 3/4 of the hallway while he is on his back.”

A short time later, she writes, another video shows Bronhard waiting outside a school bathroom with the vice principal — “shortly after, (the boy) is seen running out of the bathroom and down the hallway. Ms. Bronhard begins chasing and picks (the boy) up with his feet off the ground with her arm under his and across his chest.”

“She then moves her arms to be under his armpit area while carrying him back to the classroom.”

School officials contacted Westport police two days after the incident, on Friday, Nov. 7, and Officer Pacheco met with Westport Community Schools human resources director Kristin McDaniel, superintendent Dr. Fran Roy, and executive secretary Lori Melo, to go over the video.

Pacheco asked school officials how and when the alleged assault was originally reported, and was told that the boy’s teacher reported it to (former) principal Kevin Aguiar and special education director Wendy Miranda.

School officials told Pacheco that Bronhard was placed on administrative leave following the alleged incident, and “they also told me DCF was notified about the incident and the school was doing their investigation due to Ms. Bronhard’s actions not following proper training/policy.”

Following her meeting with school officials, Officer Pacheco met the boy’s parents separately at Westport police headquarters, where both were shown the school’s video footage.

The mother told her that she “was not happy with how Ms. Bronhard treated her son.”

The father, Pacheco wrote, felt similarly.

He “was angry and upset with Ms. Bronhard’s actions towards his son but did state how he was appreciative for how the school was dealing with it.”

Ms. Bronhard chose not to give a statement in November.

Though she would not comment directly on the incident after speculation about the incident leaked out lat November, Superintendent Roy wrote at the time that “Westport police and Massachusetts DCF investigated this incident and Westport Community Schools are cooperating with those investigations. The safety of our students is our top priority and conduct of this type by any staff toward any student is absolutely unacceptable and has no place in our schools.”