Youth Accused Of Child Abuse Parents Claim 15-Year-Old Abused Riders On School Bus

Parents of children living in the Wolf Lodge Bay area have accused a 15-year-old Coeur d’Alene student of sexually and physically abusing children on the school bus.

The Kootenai County Sheriff’s Department began investigating the allegations last week after children complained to their parents.

Sgt. Kent Johnston has interviewed eight children and “several” adults regarding the accusations against a boy he described as developmentally delayed.

Taking the advice of their lawyer, the boy’s parents are refusing to allow police to interview him, Johnston said.

The boy also is accused of bringing a Playboy calendar and sexually explicit magazines on the bus and showing them to other children.

He has not been riding the bus since the complaints were raised, Johnston said.

Children in the Wolf Lodge Bay area spend about an hour riding the Coeur d’Alene School District bus to and from school. In the afternoon, secondary and elementary students ride the same bus.

One mother said her son was physically abused by the teenager and such incidents have occurred for more than a year.

“My son told me the kid slammed his head against a window,” she said. She suspects other abuse occurred because of what other children have said, and by her own son’s behavior.

“He’s acting out. He’s having nightmares. He can’t sleep. He’s literally sick to his stomach,” she said.

The parent was angry with the bus driver’s apparent lack of concern with abusive behavior on the bus, but school officials defended the driver.

“I have no reason to believe that this bus driver has acted inappropriately,” said Dave Teater, assistant superintendent.

The buses have boxes mounted for video cameras, but only three video cameras are rotated throughout the entire fleet, Teater said. No camera was on the bus the day of the alleged abuse, he said.

Teater also contacted the sheriff’s department to inform authorities that parents have been threatening the bus driver since the allegations came to light. Teater did not elaborate on the nature of the threats.

Johnston said the driver is responsible for the safety of the students, but that’s a two-fold task.

“Do you put more weight on keeping a constant eye on the children on the bus or keeping an eye on the road?” he asked.

, DataTimes