RAYTOWN, Mo. — A mother said her daughter still can't get over what happened as she waited for her classmates during a field trip last week. The Raytown High senior said her school bus driver was watching porn on his phone while she was on board.
"This is a disgusting, vile thing that this person did on a school property," the victim's mother said.
This mother, whose identity we’re concealing due to the nature of the allegations, told 41 Action News her daughter was caroling with the choir at different schools within the district on Dec. 6.
At Raytown Middle School, their fifth and final stop, the 17-year-old didn't feel good so she stayed on the school bus.
"She was crouched down in her seat with a coat over her, she was in the middle of the bus," the mother said. "Then about five minutes maybe a little bit less than that she started hearing pornography sounds from the bus driver's phone and then she also heard him self-pleasuring himself."
She said her daughter stayed still for half-an-hour, so the driver wouldn't know she was on the bus.
When the choir came back on board, the teen immediately reported what she heard to her choir director and filed a police report.
On Tuesday, a KCPD spokesperson told 41 Action News, a sex crimes detective took the case to the prosecutor's office but because there wasn't evidence that the teen saw the bus driver's actions, they couldn't file charges.
"[The school district] did assure me that he would never drive again in the Raytown school district," the mother said.
The Raytown School District released a statement Tuesday afternoon:
"The District is aware of the student’s report, is conducting an internal investigation, and is cooperating with the Kansas City Police Department. The Raytown School District has zero tolerance for any acts that violate the safety and well-being of our students. The District has Board policies and procedures that require staff to take quick, proactive action to ensure student safety and security. While we cannot comment on specific personnel matters, we can share that the District’s response to matters of this nature typically includes providing reports to the Child Abuse and Neglect Hotline, placing an employee on leave pending investigation, and imposing consequences as appropriate up to and including termination. We encourage an environment where students, staff, and families feel empowered to report anything that might be suspicious or out of the ordinary. Any report of an incident or suspicion of wrongdoing becomes our top priority."
The spokesperson for the school district said they did not notify parents about what happened because it was an isolated incident.
The incident has traumatized the young woman, her mother said.
"She didn't go to school on Friday. She didn't want to go to school today but I think if she can get back in the swing of things," the teen's mother said. "We're hoping that this does not affect her terribly down the road."
