Prosecutor declines to file charges in school bus incident

CRYSTAL FALLS — Iron County Prosecutor Melissa Powell has declined to file charges against a Forest Park School bus driver in an alleged assault incident of a nine-year-old boy.

On March 10, 2017, Tim Daniels, the father of the boy, filed the complaint with the Crystal Falls Police Department. The bus driver allegedly picked up the child and carried him from the bus to a spot near the school’s bike rack.

After reviewing witnesses statements, interviews, pictures and video, Powell determined “the conduct did not rise to the level of criminal intent necessary to prove the crime of Assault and Battery beyond a reasonable doubt.” According to Powell, witnesses statements indicate the student attempted to run away from the bus driver towards after-school traffic after he was asked to leave the bus for disciplinary reasons.

UPDATE — Tuesday, April 4th, 2017 4:30 p.m.

The Superintendent of Forest Park Schools, Becky Waters has released a statement regarding the alleged assault allegations from one student.

CRYSTAL FALLS — Almost a month ago, a 9-year old student was allegedly assaulted by a bus driver. ABC 10 reached out to the Father of the boy involved and we have the details.

One father’s nightmare.

“It was more of a public humiliation for my child and as a result, he is afraid to come to school,” said Father of 9-year old student, Tim Daniels. Around a month ago, a 9-year old boy was allegedly picked up by an unknown bus driver and carried 268 feet before being placed on the ground.

An alarming mishap of sorts by the school’s bus drivers. “The bus driver of the bus involved had asked my son to move to a different seat because of disruptive behavior that we later found out was from a different student. This student came forward later and said he was the issue,” said Daniels.

A bus driver from a different bus that the student had never seen then entered the bus. “A driver from a different bus removed him from the bus and carried him from down there all the way to this bike rack. We are unsure how he ended up on the ground but he did end up there after being carried over 200 feet,” said Daniels.

Once the child was left at the school, he allegedly wasn’t allowed access to call his Father for over 15 minutes after the incident. This day has left the student scarred. “The school should be a safe place for children to come and it baffles me that my son is afraid to come to school or stay in school,” said Daniels.

As a result of the incident, the student is seeking outside professional help for trauma related disconnectedness. The student’s siblings who attend the same school are also allegedly facing consequences. “They’ve been trying to make it harder for my kids while they are here at this school. My kids expressed that since it happened, the staff has been less than compassionate towards them and the situation. They are almost going out of their way to make it more difficult for the children,” said Daniels.

After attempting to reach out to the school for answers, this single Father of three has been left in the dark. “It feels to me that the first step should have been an administrative leave for the driver, and as far as I know, nothing has happened to the driver,” said Daniels.

Student witnesses have assisted with shedding light on details of the situation, but for the Father of a son who is now terrified of attending school, he thinks more should be done. “When an instant like this occurs, it should be taken very seriously and shouldn’t be just shuffled under the rug, it should be addressed immediately,” said Daniels.

In regards to the next step of action being taken by the Father, the Crystal Falls Police Department is currently investigating the situation and Daniels wants his children to be able to continue attending this school. “I’m trying to work with the school in order to correct the situation, however they have been less than cooperative,” said Daniels.

ABC 10 also tried reaching out to the Superintendent of Forest Park schools, but was informed that there will be no comment at this time.

MARQUETTE — An investigation is underway at Forest Park Schools after a student was allegedly assaulted by a member of the school’s transportation services department.

The alleged incident happened Thursday afternoon on a school bus and involved an elementary student. The parent of the student tells ABC 10 their child was forcibly removed from the bus and dropped on the ground.

The parent says they’ve filed a police report and they want charges pressed against the staff member. Superintendent Becky Waters confirmed the school is investigating the incident.

Results of the school’s investigation will not be available until sometime next week.