DRAPER, Utah (AP) - Parents in a Utah school district are demanding to know why they weren’t told about an investigation of a bus driver charged with sexually abusing a special needs girl.
A group of parents whose children attend Draper Park Middle School vented their frustrations in a letter sent Tuesday to the Canyons School District Board. District spokeswoman Jennifer Toomer-Cook said school officials alerted some people about the investigation of John Martin Carrell but did not want to compromise an active police investigation.
Carrell, 61, faces 23 counts of aggravated sexual abuse of a child. Investigators believe the abuse was limited to a 5-year-old girl with special needs who attended pre-kindergarten classes at Altara Elementary School. Carrell also was a bus driver for similar students at Draper Park Middle School.
Carrell is being held at the Salt Lake County jail on a $3 million cash-only bail. He appeared in court Wednesday for a brief hearing.
His attorney, Richard Mauro, said Carrell is innocent and devastated by the accusations.
The parents of the special needs children are asking for a meeting with district administrators, an independent investigation of Carrell’s employment and a determination of what they see as a failure to immediately inform parents and police in Draper about Carrell’s bus routes, the Deseret News (https://bit.ly/1lRfGgJ) reported.
“Over the past two weeks we have been shocked at the callous disregard by Canyons School District officials with respect to the welfare of our children,” the parents wrote in their letter. “We believe that the school district has violated the public trust with its actions.”
According to court documents, Carrell abused the girl from late February to late April while he was driving a Canyons School District bus. The Sandy Police Department began investigating after the girl reported the incidents to her father, authorities said.
The driver was placed on leave after allegations surfaced on April 23, Toomer-Cook said. He later resigned.
District staff members have been directed to look into the parents’ letter, she said. School officials won’t meet with the parents as a group but would welcome one-on-one conversations, she added.
“If you have questions, come talk to us,” Toomer-Cook said. “We have always said we will meet with them individually, and that is our stance.”
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Information from: Deseret News, https://www.deseretnews.com
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