Further investigation into the case of a six-year old boy alleged to have been sexually abused on a City of Buffalo school bus has revealed more disturbing results. The latest development has the school district’s Parent Coordinating Council up in arms.
Members of the District Parent Coordinating Council said the boy’s mother and her lawyer informed them that a review of a month’s worth of footage from school bus cameras by City of Buffalo Police revealed the boy was molested by another child five times.
The further investigation comes following allegations of abuse in December 2015. The review of footage for the day in question revealed no initial evidence. The DPCC said they, along with the mother, urged the police to continue the investigation.
“One thing we cannot ignore or negate: had there been a bus aide on the bus, it wouldn’t have happened,” said DPCC First Vice President Bryon McIntyre.
McIntyre says he is adamant that proper supervision would have prevented the multiple incidents. He also said that had the boy’s mother not approached the DPCC, there would be no conversation now about the issue since her and her son’s initial claims were widely dismissed.
DPCC Transportation Committee Co-Chair Kelly Hall said she and Co-Chair Wendy Mistretta met with School Superintendent Kriner Cash, members of his cabinet, and the school district’s transportation director to discuss the issue.
“They will not – at this time – put bus aides on every bus. They’ve made that part clear,” said Hall. “They have a protocol in place that they consider to the best of their abilities at this time, with funds being where they’re at in reimbursement for bussing and things like that.”
Reports are conflicted as to how many city school busses actually have aides assigned to them, let alone how many are actually on board. But McIntyre said the only acceptable amount is 100 percent, and he wants it right now.
“We don’t care that there’s only three, four weeks left of school. Imagine how a parent feels having to put their child on the bus, knowing that children are being molested numerous times and there’s no one there to protect them or safeguard them. No, that’s totally unacceptable,” said McIntyre.
McIntyre said without supervision, inappropriate behavior on city school busses is inevitable. He reiterated that expecting only a bus driver to maintain order while trying to safely navigate the streets is unrealistic.
Keyon Lee, President of the Buffalo Center for the Prevention and Treatment of Child Sex Abuse, wants to see more than just supervision on busses enacted. He is calling for young students to be educated on recognizing inappropriate sexual situations.
“What we’ll be exposing them to is ‘appropriate touch, bad appropriate touch’ – things of that nature. So they’d know that if someone touches them in that way or in that manner, they’d know this is wrong and, ‘I’m telling.’”
Lee said parents also need to be more diligent and have serious conversations with their children about inappropriate behavior and how to respond to it.
DPCC President Sam Radford said the Education Committee of the city’s Common Council is considering providing a one-time grant to cover half the cost the cost for bus aides in next year’s budget. Whether or not that gets approved remains to be seen.
