Former Canyons bus driver charged with abuse of 2nd child


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SALT LAKE CITY — Prosecutors say they've identified a second victim of former Canyons School District bus driver John Martin Carrell.

Carrell, 61, of Draper, is already charged in 3rd District Court with 23 counts of aggravated sexual abuse of a child, a first-degree felony, for allegedly abusing a young girl with special needs whom he drove to and from Altara Elementary School in Sandy, 800 E. 11000 South.

On Monday, the Salt Lake County District Attorney's Office filed 11 more first-degree felony counts of aggravated sexual abuse of a child.

A concerned parent recently contacted Sandy police after their 5-year-old daughter, who has an autism spectrum disorder, began "acting out," according to charging documents. The girl was also a student at Altara Elementary and the parent asked Sandy police to look at bus surveillance video after they learned of Carrell's arrest in the other incident, the charges state.

From March 12 to April 3, the surveillance video shows Carrell inappropriately touching the young girl as he helps to unbuckle her from her seat once the bus arrives at her stop, according to the charges.

Carrell was previously scheduled to be back in court on Tuesday.

District Attorney Sim Gill said he doesn't know if Sandy police and prosecutors have finished reviewing all bus surveillance video that exists from Carrell's former routes, but hopes that there aren't any other victims.

"You want to say this is the end of it. I hope it's the end of the matter. I can't say what's out there or what's not out there," he said. "As information becomes available we'll look at everything that's available."

In his original charges, Carrell is accused of abusing a 5-year-old girl with special needs while allegedly trying to unbuckle her seat belt after the bus arrives at school and the children are about to be unloaded.

After the investigation by Sandy police was made public, concerned parents in Draper — where he also had a bus route — called for an investigation. As of Monday, police had not identified any potential victims in their area.

Each of the 34 charges carries a potential maximum prison sentence of 15 years to life.

Canyons School District spokesman Jeff Haney said Monday the district was looking at its budget to find a way to put aides on all buses for children with special needs in the future.

Contributing: Sandra Yi

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