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DRAPER — The father of a Draper Park Middle School student with special needs said authorities need to further investigate the actions of a former Canyons School District bus driver accused of sexual assault.
More families are coming forward with allegations against a former Canyons School District bus driver accused of sexually assaulting students on his route.
The father of a Draper Park Middle School student with special needs said further investigation is needed to determine which students were assaulted and why the school district wasn't disclosing that the bus driver was already under investigation. The Draper Police Department contacted them Thursday night, even though it isn’t the first time the district discovered the alleged abuse, the father said.
“The district has known about this for weeks, the district knew — the Sandy Police Department made no attempt to contact (the family),” said Scott, who asked that his last name not be revealed to protect his daughter. “Even though they knew, this bus driver was driving special needs students to Draper Park Middle School.”
Scott’s daughter doesn’t talk, but she uses an iPad to communicate. His daughter also has an individualized education plan that includes a special aide with her on the bus at all times in case she has a seizure.
Not only was the plan not fulfilled every day, but Scott’s daughter was alone on the bus with the driver.
“I’m seriously considering asking the (Draper Police Department) to investigate the school district in violation of that statute to see if any crime has been committed,” Scott said.
The bus driver has not been arrested or charged, but he has resigned.
Canyons School District told Scott they will speak with him next week to address his concerns.
The former bus driver is also under investigation for similar allegations of child sex abuse for another bus route. The driver held a bus route that shuttled preschool children to a special education program at Altara Elementary School, 800 E. 11000 South in Draper.
Complaints on those allegations were filed with the school district, which also contacted the Sandy Police Department.
The investigation began after the school district reviewed three months’ worth of video that came from the bus’ surveillance system.
